Estate Planning

Sound Estate Planning.  In estate planning, your goal and ours, is to preserve the financial security that comes with diligent work.  It takes careful preparation to be sure your business and personal assets are successfully transferred to succeeding generations.  It also takes experience - experience with you and your business.  A well-conceived estate plan is the only way to protect your assets from substantial estate and income taxes.  Leffel, Otis, & Warwick, P.S. offers planning services to help you develop a strategic plan that will preserve your assets for the financial security of your family's future.

Our estate planning services include:

• Development of personally designed estate plans to reduce estate and gift taxes to maximize family wealth

• Inform you of the tax implications that will result from the decisions you make in structuring your account

• Assist in planning for the disposition of your property during your lifetime as well as at your death

• Preparing business valuations to be utilized in effectuating lifetime gifts to minimize estate and gift tax

• Minimize the tax burden so that your beneficiaries will receive the maximum inheritance

• Creation and implementation of business succession plans

• Preparing the estate income tax returns, ensuring all tax opportunities are maximized following death

• Provide expert tax advice in the preparation of pre-death agreements

Trust and Estate Administration,  The personal representative of an estate is charged with the often-daunting task of administering the estate.  In most cases he will need the guidance and assistance of a knowledgeable advisor.  Our estate administration services include:

• Assisting personal representatives in navigating through the estate administration process

• Preparation of fiduciary income tax returns for trusts and estates, including income tax planning to minimize income taxes

• Preparation of gift tax returns

• Post-mortem planning including redemption of shares of a closely-held business

• Working with attorneys, personal representatives and beneficiaries to minimize estate tax and income tax

• Valuation of closely-held business interests to minimize estate tax