Estate planning and the administration of estates and trusts have been a foundation of the practice at Carmody & Torrance since the firm’s inception. Attorneys in our estate planning group and an experienced staff are dedicated to providing individual client services with careful and personal attention. While the practice requires us to be familiar with highly technical fields of tax and probate law, we also provide personal counsel for clients on legal issues involving other areas of the firm’s practice. In particular, we regularly provide advice and counsel to our many clients who own closely-held businesses. We develop an understanding and sensitivity to each client’s unique needs, goals and expectations as a necessary component of the provision of sound legal and personal advice. Relationships with our individual clients often span generations.
The members of the estate planning group take pride in providing excellent client service and in developing individually tailored strategies that are creative and effective. Our attorneys, paralegals and assistants are accessible and responsive. We value our client relationships and strive to provide quality service at reasonable cost.
We take the time to meet with our clients as often as necessary to truly understand their concerns and objectives. We work with our clients as they make decisions, implement plans and effect transactions to achieve their estate, tax and business planning goals.
Our estate planning attorneys:
- Analyze or explain estate planning options to ensure that our clients understand the alternatives before and after choosing a course of action
- Prepare wills and trust agreements and other estate planning documents that fit the individual client's facts and objectives
- Advise clients on the tax implications of alternative courses of action, opening their eyes to opportunities to reduce taxes and preserve wealth and seeking to ensure that tax objectives do not conflict with more fundamental objectives
- Help owners of family businesses with operational and succession issues
- Develop programs of giving to family and charities during life and at death
We are especially cognizant of our responsibilities to protect the rights and property of our elderly clients and we stay abreast of regulatory and statutory laws and regulations that affect the rights and responsibilities of these clients and their families.
The Estate Planning and Fiduciary Services group also has extensive experience in advising individuals and institutions acting as executors and trustees, as well as beneficiaries, on all aspects of estate and trust administration, including:
- The probate of wills and the administration of decedents’ estates
- Accounting for and administration of trusts under wills
- The administration of living trusts
- Fiduciary income taxation
Although our role is most often to act as trusted family and business counselors, we serve as zealous advocates for our clients when the need arises. Please see Probate and Fiduciary Litigation for a description of the firm’s experience and capabilities with contested matters.
The firm represents public charities, community foundations, private foundations and other tax-exempt organizations. We provide advice on the formation of tax-exempt organizations, apply for recognition of tax-exempt status and advise on operational and governance issues.