Find Lawyers in Connecticut, United States for Trusts and Estates
Practice Area Overview
How Can a Trusts and Estates Attorney Help You?
Trust and estate attorneys help clients plan for the efficient and effective transfer of assets to spouses, to younger generation family members, to other persons clients wish to benefit, and to charities. The practice involves the preparation of trust agreements, wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, and closely held business structures, including partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations.
What are the Trusts and Estates Practices Focal Points?
Wealth Planning
When attorneys begin the planning process, they consider your objectives, your family relationships, charitable inclinations, and the relationship of federal and state estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax laws to these objectives. Attorneys then work with you and, in some cases, with other advisers to design the appropriate plan to meet your goals and objectives, prepare the necessary documents to carry out the desired plan, and assist with the implementation of your plan. In connection with family wealth planning, attorneys plan and draft trust agreements and wills, create various business entities, and carry out business reorganizations.
Estate Administration
Trust and estate attorneys also handle the administration of estates. Attorneys confer with members of a decedent’s family on the various issues, including:
• Assistance to the executor with the preparation of the required probate documents and assist in valuation of estate assets
• Making insurance claims
• Preparation of final income tax returns and the estate’s income and federal and state estate tax returns
• Monitoring of the investment of the estate’s assets
• Arranging for the distribution of the estate’s net assets
• Throughout the administration of an estate, consideration is given to income tax savings through the timing of distributions and the timing and claiming of appropriate deductions.
Trust Administration
In the trust administration area, attorneys advise and consult with corporate and individual trustees concerning the discharge of the trust’s terms and consult with beneficiaries concerning trust administration matters including the preparation of trust accounts.
Trust and Estate attorneys also assist clients in all phases of probate and trust litigation. This may involve construing or reforming the terms of a will or trust, prosecuting or defending a will contest action or surcharge actions against trustees.
What is a Trusts and Estates attorneys goal for its clients?
The goal of an trust and estate attorney is to assist clients to achieve their personal goals while obtaining the significant tax savings which may be available to them through proper planning. Attorneys in the practice spend a significant amount of time dealing with the federal estate, gift, and generation skipping tax issues involved in transfer planning.
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Cities
Laura Weintraub Beck is Firm-wide Chairman and Managing Director of Cummings & Lockwood. She is based in the Greenwich office. She focuses her practice on estate planning, including business succession planning and planning for real estate holdings, estate administration, probate litigation and trust administration. Laura was formerly the Chairman of Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group. In addition, she was previously Director of Client Communication for the Private Clie...
Paul L. Bourdeau is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. He joined the Firm in 1980 and was the founder of the West Hartford office. Paul advises clients in the areas of estate planning, tax efficient wealth transfer, estate settlement, trust administration, business succession planning, taxation and charitable giving. In addition, he has extensive experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. His clients include corporate e...
DOUGLAS R. BROWN is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates and Dispute Resolution Groups. Mr. Brown practices in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement, and probate, trust and fiduciary litigation. He represents individual clients in all aspects of estate planning and estate settlement to maximize the transfer of wealth, minimize the effect of estate and gift taxes, plan for incapacity, and plan effectively for disabled family members thr...
Caroline Demirs Calio is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. She practices in the areas of estate and gift tax planning, asset protection, estate settlement and trust administration. In addition, Caroline advises closely-held business owners on succession planning issues and various general corporate matters. She also has experience serving as an Executor and Trustee. Prior to joining Cummings & Lockwood, Caroline worked...
B. Cort Delany is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Cort, a Greenwich native, has worked with families from Connecticut and around the country to protect family assets from unnecessary taxes and attacks from third parties. Cort's ultimate goal is to allow successive generations to benefit from family wealth without precluding each family member from maximizing his or her personal potential.
Margaret A. Deluca is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. She joined the Firm in 1996 and concentrates in the areas of estate planning, business succession planning, estate and trust administration and probate litigation. She is on the Firm's Board of Directors and is the Administrative Co-Chair of the Stamford Private Clients Group.
Richard Di Marco is a principal in Cohen and Wolf’s Tax, Trusts and Estates, and Business & Corporate Groups. He has thirty years' experience advising clients in tax matters, estate planning and administration, and business law; and representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Di Marco practiced as a CPA prior to entering the practice of law. His clients include closely held corporations, partnerships, funds, tax-exempt organizations, and high net worth individual...
Robert B. Fawber is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. His primary areas of practice are estate and charitable planning, estate settlement, trust administration and residential real estate transactions. Prior to joining Cummings & Lockwood, Bob practiced real estate, estate planning and general business law in the Hartford area from 1975 to 1996. While at Georgetown Law, Bob served in the United States Army Reserve, Jud...
Daniel P. Fitzgerald is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and Principal-in-Charge of the Greenwich office. His practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration, taxation, partnerships, probate litigation and defending tax audits. Dan's extensive estate administration experience allows him to develop estate plans that address issues and concerns before they become problematic. He has worked with a broad range of finance, accounting, hedge fund and private...
JAMES D. FUNNELL, JR. is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. His practice is limited to trusts and estates planning, special needs planning for family members with disabilities, and trusts and estates administration. Mr. Funnell is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. Mr. Funnell is admitted to practice in Connecticut and has practiced in Fairfield County for over thirty years. He is also admitted to practice in Texas. Prior to joinin...
Jessie A. Gilbert is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Jessie advises high net worth individuals on estate and tax issues, helping them with succession, generation-skipping and asset protection planning. She also represents executors and trustees with respect to probate, estate and trust administration matters, as well as with estate and fiduciary income taxes. Jessie is a frequent writer and lecturer on estate planning and ad...
Leslie Grodd is a seasoned tax attorney representing high-net-worth individuals in tax and estate planning, and probate matters. He also handles real estate and business transactions such as commercial and residential property closings, creating optimal corporate structures for new companies, selling, and acquiring companies, and purchasing investments. In addition to managing transactions, he counsels and helps his clients navigate potential tax and estate planning consequences. Les has had ...
DAVID R. HERMENZE is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. Mr. Hermenze practices in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration. Mr. Hermenze is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and has practiced in Fairfield County since 1986. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Hermenze was a partner and co-founder of the former law firm of Hermenze & Marcantonio LLC in Westport, Conne...
Daniel G. Johnson is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office where he has practiced since joining the Firm in 1997. He practices primarily in the areas of estate planning, family business succession planning, estate administration and trust administration. Dan frequently lectures on estate and tax planning topics before both lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
HEATHER J. LANGE is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and is a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates and Dispute Resolution Groups. Ms. Lange practices in the areas of estate planning, trust and estate administration, estate settlement, and probate, trust and fiduciary litigation. She represents high net worth individuals and family groups with the preparation of sophisticated wills, revocable trusts, private foundations and charitable trusts and when necessary, litigates probate proce...
EDWARD MARCANTONIO is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. Mr. Marcantonio practices in the areas of trusts and estates planning and administration. He assists individuals with tax and asset protection planning, estate settlement and trust administration. Mr. Marcantonio is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Marcantonio practiced at the former law ...
PETER T. MOTT is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. Mr. Mott practices in the areas of estate planning and trusts and estate administration. He assists individuals with tax and charitable gift planning, business owners with succession planning, and families planning for aging or incapacitated family members. Mr. Mott is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney. He is admitted to practice in Connecticut and has practiced in the Greater Bri...
John R. Musicaro, Jr. is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. John practices in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration and fiduciary services. He served as Chairman of the Firm's Private Clients Group for over 12 years.
RONALD B. NOREN is a principal of Brody Wilkinson and a member of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Group. Mr. Noren practices in the area of trusts and estates, including estate planning, transmission of wealth, estate settlement, and trust administration. He represents individual clients and family groups, often on a multi-generational basis, to preserve and transmit earned and inherited wealth incorporating personal and family goals with efficient tax planning. Mr. Noren often works wi...
Douglas H. Olin is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Doug joined Cummings & Lockwood in 1999 and became a Principal in 2001. His practice focuses on estate planning, family business succession planning, and estate and trust administration. Doug speaks frequently on estate and tax planning topics before both lawyer and non-lawyer audiences.
Alan S. Parker is chair of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Department. He practices in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration. He counsels individuals and institutional fiduciaries concerning their role as executor, trustee and conservator. Alan also is engaged in counseling individuals and nonprofit organizations on activities relating to tax exempt issues, including private foundations and community foundations. He has conducted seminars on estate planning an...
Kelley Galica Peck is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is the Principal in Charge of the West Hartford office. Kelley focuses her practice in the areas of estate and trust planning and probate law. Kelley has significant experience working with individuals and families to plan for the management, protection, and transfer of wealth, including succession planning for owners of closely-held businesses. She handles complex charitable gift planning, estate plannin...
Lou is a partner in the private client and tax team at Withers Bergman LLP. He concentrates his practice on estate planning and administration, income tax planning and commercial transactions with a particular emphasis on planning for closely held businesses. His work for clients focuses on a variety of matters, that touch on creating wealth and business succession structures to general legal business advice and spans a wide range of industries including real estate, manufacturing, and profes...
Ed is partner in the private client and tax team at Withers Bergman LLP. He focuses on domestic and international private client matters. Ed provides legal advice on US and international estate planning, income maximization strategies, FLP and LLC planning, wealth preservation, business succession planning, international tax planning for entities and individuals, trust structures and estate administration. Ed often uses sophisticated domestic and offshore insurance strategies to solve client ...
Heather J. Rhoades is Chairman of Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the West Hartford office. She practices in the areas of estate planning, estate settlement, trust administration and charitable planning. Heather is a member of the Firm's National Charitable Planning Group.
Edward F. Rodenbach is based in the Greenwich office. He has served as the Partner-in-Charge of the Greenwich office, a member of the Firm's Board of Directors and it's Vice Chairman, and co-Chair of the Firm's Private Clients Group. Ed's practice has included estate planning for high net worth individuals and families; all aspects of estate settlement and administration; and trust planning, formation and administration. Today, Ed spends most of his time as an executor and trustee for numerou...
Greta E. Solomon is a principal and chair of Cohen and Wolf's Trusts & Estates, Elder Law, and Tax Groups. Ms. Solomon has been assisting clients in the areas of estate planning, elder law, and probate administration (including estates, trusts, conservatorships, guardianship, etc.) for more than 30 years. Her in-depth knowledge of the tax codes and sophisticated estate planning techniques allows her to provide counsel on complex estate matters. Ms. Solomon also has experience in retiremen...
James B. Stewart practices in the areas of estate planning and trust and estate administration. While Jim is primarily engaged in various aspects of trusts and estates law, he also handles real estate transactions associated with the settlement of trusts and estates and oversees the firm’s activities with regard to the preparation of personal and fiduciary income tax returns. He also has lectured before the Connecticut Society for Certified Public Accountants on Connecticut estate settl...
Conrad Teitell is a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group and is based in the Stamford office. Through his law practice, lectures, publications, columns and congressional activities, Conrad strives to help charitable organizations receive and donors make taxwise charitable gifts that take into account their entire estate plan for themselves and their families. He is also frequently called upon to help clients patch-up plans that have gone awry. He has been an adjunct la...
Howard S. Tuthill III (Terry) is a Principal with Cummings & Lockwood in its Stamford office and a member of the Firm's Private Clients Group. Terry joined Cummings & Lockwood in 1993 after practicing for 14 years with the New York law firm of Kelley, Drye and Warren and seven years with the Connecticut law firm of Cross, Brodrick & Chipman.
Karen is a partner in the Trust, Estates and Charitable Planning team. Karen’s practice is focused on wealth planning. She works with individuals, families and family offices providing legal advice on wealth transfer tax planning and fiduciary administration. As part of the wealth planning process, Karen regularly advises on business succession, charitable giving, and income tax planning for individuals, estates, trusts and business entities, including family offices and private trust c...
Katherine (“Kacie”) Cotter Gent is an Associate in Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group and is based in the Greenwich office. Kacie joined Cummings & Lockwood in 2016 and focuses her practice on estate planning, which includes the drafting of Wills, Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Health Care documents. She also advises high net worth individuals on estate and taxation issues, including estate and gift tax planning, generation-skipping...
Andrea is an associate in our private client and tax team at Withers Bergman LLP. She focuses on tax, trust and estate planning for high net worth individuals and their families. She regularly advises clients on a broad range of international tax issues, including US taxation of foreign trusts with US beneficiaries and US tax reporting. She also enjoys helping clients with the formation and operation of private foundations so as to achieve their philanthropic goals.
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