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Our capabilities in our chosen fields rival those of larger firms, but we do not see ourselves as a replacement for Big Law. We’re the alternative.

Estate Planning

When it comes to transferring wealth, careful planning can be the difference between a smooth transition and a tedious road to resolution. Experience knows how to craft a plan to realize your estate planning goals, while minimizing gift and estate taxes to ensure that your assets are protected as they transfer to intended beneficiaries.

We also believe that the precise execution of your plan is as important as the plan itself. During life or at death, we work closely with executors and trustees, providing guidance for all aspects of estate and trust administration.

Wills and Trusts

At Wall Esleeck Babcock we are committed to developing estate plans that are tailored to each client’s unique needs. The estate plan will include preparing a will and related documents, often including various types of revocable and irrevocable trusts, to achieve the desired transfer of wealth while at the same time taking advantage of current gift and estate tax exemptions.

Estate Tax Planning

Tax minimization strategies are a key component of many estate plans. We help our clients structure estate plans to pass property to future generations at the lowest tax cost. Depending on the client’s goals and willingness to deal with complexity, our estate tax planning techniques include:

  • Irrevocable life insurance trusts
  • Lifetime gifts to trusts for minors and adults
  • Qualified personal residence trusts
  • Grantor retained annuity trusts
  • Qualified terminable interest property trusts
  • Generation skipping trusts
  • Charitable giving devices
  • Family limited liability companies
  • Family limited partnerships
  • Use of valuation discounts for transfers to next generations
Powers of Attorney, Living Wills and Guardianships

Our estate planning practice involves counseling clients regarding business management and health care decisions and guardianships. We prepare financial management powers of attorney for clients who may become incapacitated or for those who simply want assistance with their affairs as they age. We advise clients on the use of health care powers of attorney and living wills. We assist those who need to have guardianships appointed for incompetent family members. We have broad knowledge regarding this area of law and we listen closely to our clients to help them achieve their financial and health care goals as well as their wealth transfer goals.

Business Continuation Planning

Many of our clients own closely-held businesses. Combining the expertise of our estate planning, corporate and tax attorneys, we advise these clients on the ownership, management and tax issues related to keeping these businesses intact for future generations or to provide for orderly sales upon the death or retirement of owners. We use a variety of techniques to achieve to help achieve these goals, including:

  • Shareholders’ agreements
  • Stock transfer valuation formulas
  • Operating agreements
  • Deferred compensation agreements
  • Family limited liability companies
  • Family limited partnerships
  • Purchase of life insurance to fund buyouts
  • Transfers of life insurance policies
  • Elections to defer taxation of family owned businesses
  • Use of valuation discounts for transfers to next generations
Charitable Giving

Our clients often have charitable goals. We employ a broad number of techniques designed specifically to achieve those goals in as tax-favored a manner as possible, including use of:

  • Charitable remainder trusts
  • Charitable lead trusts
  • Donor advised funds
  • Private foundations
  • Charitable transfers at death
  • Transfers from retirement accounts
Trust & Estate Administration

To be effective an estate plan must be properly administered. Our firm works with individual and corporate executors, administrators, and beneficiaries throughout the estate administration process, including:

  • Probating the will
  • Qualifying executors and trustees
  • Accounting for assets and debts
  • Post-mortem income and estate tax planning
  • Providing counsel regarding ongoing fiduciary responsibilities
  • Preparing estate and fiduciary tax returns
  • Defending estates in IRS tax audits, if necessary
  • Funding bequests and trusts
  • Distributing assets
  • Advising executors and trustees on document interpretation
  • Providing representation in actions before the Clerk of Court on estate and trust matters
  • Removing trustees
  • Will Caveats