Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation

At Hinshaw, we provide the sound planning, strategic foresight and creative solutions required to capably manage and preserve assets. In doing so, we help business owners, real estate owners, executives and other individuals comprehensively plan for the present and future. More specifically, we help clients accomplish their goals tax-efficiently; assist in planning for the smooth transition of family businesses and assets; advise trustees and executors who administer trusts and estates of all sizes; and help individuals adequately provide for the care of loved ones, including those with special needs.

Traditional Estate Planning Services

The accumulation of assets and wealth comes from hard work and determination. So protecting the fruits of that labor and resolve is essential. We help business owners, executives, and individuals effectively plan for the financial ramifications of marriages, major lifetime events, disability and death. Our many traditional services include:

• Preparing wills and all types of revocable and irrevocable trusts, including irrevocable life insurance trusts and gift trusts
• Addressing marital trust issues related to second marriages and non-citizen spouses
• Disability planning, including preparation of powers of attorney for health care and property, living wills, and HIPAA authorizations
• Drafting prenuptial agreements

Sophisticated Services for Business Owners, Real Estate Owners, Senior Executives and High Net Worth Individuals

Business owners, real estate owners, senior executives, high net worth individuals, physicians and others frequently require specialized assistance to effectively preserve, and plan for the distribution and transition of, their significant assets and wealth. We help our clients preserve wealth for the next generation, protect their beneficiaries, avoid or help mitigate the taxable effects of various activities, accomplish effective generational transfers, and facilitate charitable gifting. Specifically, we help our clients by:

• Assisting with business and asset transition planning, including the use of buy/sell agreements and other tax-effective mechanisms such as sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts
• Planning for generation-skipping transfers and creating descendant trusts, including dynasty trusts
• Developing tax-efficient gifting strategies for the transfer of wealth, including the use of grantor retained annuity trusts and qualified personal residence trusts
• Developing and implementing asset protection strategies
• Counseling on the formation and operation of family limited partnerships
• Creating charitable giving strategies, including the use of charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts, and advising on the formation and operation of private foundations

Trust and Estate Administrative Services

Each trust and estate is unique. Serving as trusted advisors in administering the assets and activities of trusts and estates, we assist with a full range of distinctive opportunities and challenges. We build personal relationships with our clients so that we can best help them address sometimes conflicting interests and achieve their goals in the most prudent and financially wise manner. Among our many capabilities, we:

• Advise trustees and executors who administer trusts and estates of all sizes
• Counsel taxpayers regarding estate, gift, generation-skipping and income taxes, including individual and fiduciary income taxes
• Prepare gift and estate tax returns
• Advocate in estate controversies, trust controversies, and estate and gift tax audits

Services for the Elderly, Minors and the Disabled

We help clients adequately and sufficiently provide for their elderly, minor and/or disabled family members and other beneficiaries. Identifying and balancing sometimes competing goals of interested parties, we help our clients achieve their goals, preserve their assets for the long term and ensure the present and future well-being of their loved ones with special needs. Specifically, we help by:

• Advising regarding elder law issues
• Creating supplemental needs trusts and payback trusts for disabled individuals
• Establishing guardianships for minors and disabled adults and advising the guardians, personal representatives and conservators regarding administration issues

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