Estate Planning and Asset Protection

At the time of the firm’s organization in 1976 the firm intended to develop a strong estate planning practice.  To this end, the firm sought to attract attorneys with experience in the area and attend instructional seminars accross the midwest.  Then and now, estate planning represents the firm’s core area of concentration and is one in which the firm has developed a reputation for a great level of expertise.

This area of the law has historically suffered dramatic legislative changes that require an estate planner to remain abreast of changes.  Today is no different.  The area of estate planning is currently experiencing unique changes thanks to modifications of the tax code and the firm specializes in making those changes advantageous to its clients.

The firm provides legal services in connection with the preparation of both simple and highly sophisticated estate plans which includes the preparation and implementation of:

• Grantor revocable trusts together with pour-over wills
• Grantor retained annuity trusts
• Irrevocable asset protection trusts
• Charitable trusts, including charitable lead annuity trusts, charitable remainder unitrusts and charitable remainder annuity trusts.
• Family limited partnerships which are a vehicle for reducing federal estate taxes and preserving family real estate and family businesses
• Gifting programs for the further reduction of federal estate taxes
• Plans to protect assets in the event of catastrophic illnesses
• Private foundations
• Durable powers of attorney for both financial affairs and health care
• Living wills

In this area the firm also specializes in providing comprehensive advice and counsel for estate and trust administration, assistance to personal representatives and trustees on day-to-day activities and decisions, preparation of U.S. Estate Tax Returns and Nebraska Inheritance Tax and Estate Tax Returns, and administration of trusts to facilitate the continuation of family businesses and farms, including troubleshooting future problems and conflicts. To get an idea of what estate planning arrangement would work best for you, you can start by downloading an estate planning questionnaire (pdf) from this website. Once you have reviewed the information on that questionnaire, we encourage you to call our office and set up a conference to discuss your unique situation in more detail.