Wealth Transfer Planning

Wealth transfer planning and trust and estate administration have long been among the special strengths of Williams Mullen. For many years, the firm has been general counsel to major bank trust departments, and this relationship has provided a unique opportunity for experience and insight into practical considerations in planning and administration.

Our wealth transfer planning services include the following techniques:

• Generation-Skipping or Dynasty Trusts
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
• Family Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies
• Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Lead Trusts
• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
• Sales to Grantor Trusts
• Self Canceling Installment Notes
• Private Annuities

It is especially important to properly plan for the estate of an owner of a closely-held business. A family or closely-held business may be plagued with liquidity problems, difficulties in valuation, and conflicts associated with the transition of ownership or management of the business. We realize that every family is unique and, therefore, we have no "standard" answers. Our attorneys are skilled in counseling individual clients and helping them to create plans that are specifically tailored to their personal goals, while eliminating or minimizing adverse tax consequences. We offer a wide array of wealth transfer planning services. These include not only the preparation of wills and trust agreements but also a variety of more sophisticated planning devices for the disposition of family wealth and the sheltering of assets from income, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

In addition, we stand ready to assist individual and corporate fiduciaries in large and complex estate administration. Our attorneys are skilled in estate and trust administration, particularly with the tax considerations in administering estates and trusts holding business interests. In addition, we represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in resolving will and trust disputes, and when required, we represent their interests in any related litigation.