Estate Planning

Kelly Hart’s Estate Planning and Probate lawyers employ a diverse range of estate planning methods to facilitate the transfer of a client’s wealth either during their lifetime or after their death. The ultimate goal is to minimize the impact of various transfer taxes applicable to individuals, including estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. As appropriate, the firm may seek private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service to determine the tax implications of specific estate planning transactions.

The firm aims to assist each client in accomplishing their objectives by utilizing fundamental and sophisticated estate planning documents and techniques. These may include wills and revocable trusts, life insurance trusts, charitable and non-charitable gifts, the establishment of limited partnerships and other business entities, private foundations, and donor advised funds, grantor retained annuity trusts, installment sales of assets, qualified personal residence trusts, and charitable split-interest trusts.

In some cases, the firm may utilize strategies designed to protect a client’s wealth. Estate planning also encompasses preparing for the management of a client’s assets and personal care in the event of incapacity, achieved through the use of revocable trusts, financial and medical powers of attorney, medical directives (also known as living wills), and guardian declarations.