Our Estate Planning and Administration Group serves clients across the Southeastern United States, counseling individuals and families in the acquisition, preservation, management and transfer of their property. Our services weave together the laws of income, gift, estate and generation-skipping taxation, trusts, estates, charitable giving, employee benefits, securities, insurance, partnerships and corporations

Estate Planning and Drafting Wills and Trusts.

Our attorneys advise clients on advantageous estate planning opportunities as they apply within the context of the particular client’s goals and objectives. Proper planning does more than just provide for the transfer of assets at death. Our clients include individuals and families who have accumulated substantial wealth and those who are at the beginning of the process. We work with our clients to create unique estate plans that preserve assets and minimize taxes, both during their lives and, often, for many years beyond.

Aside from the tax concerns, these estate plans address the special problems associated with specific assets, such as a family business, in ways that achieve the client’s goals. We also design plans to take into account the special needs of beneficiaries, such as those who cannot manage assets or who suffer from mental or physical disabilities. We also address the practical issues of protecting assets from creditors and beneficiaries from themselves, by making sure that beneficiaries have “enough to do something, but not enough to do nothing.”

Administration of Estates and Trusts.

Our attorneys advise corporate and individual fiduciaries regarding estate and trust administration, including post-mortem tax planning and return preparation.

Charitable and Exempt Organization Representation.

Our attorneys represent private foundations, hospitals and other charitable organizations of regional importance. In addition, our attorneys have assisted clients with the formation of private family foundations and other charitable and nonprofit corporations, as well as structuring various types of lifetime and testamentary charitable gifts and bequests.

Tax Controversy Matters, Will Contests and Other Court Proceedings.

Our attorneys represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service in connection with estate and gift tax audits, and other tax controversies. In addition, our attorneys handle will contests and litigation seeking the proper construction of wills and trusts. We usually work on these matters in conjunction with the Firm’s litigation attorneys.

Our services include counsel and representation in:

	Estate and Gift Taxation
	Wills
	Estate Administration
	Trusts
	GRATS, GRITS and GRUTS
	Powers of Attorney
	Family Partnership
	Generation Skipping Tax Planning
	Charitable Remainder Trusts
	Business Succession Planning