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Practice/Industry Group Overview
"Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one's affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. [F]or nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions." --Judge Learned Hand in the Dissenting Opinion to Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Newman, 159 F.2d 848 (2d Cir. 1947). The Stites & Harbison Trusts & Estate Planning Group enthusiastically agrees with Judge Hand's opinion above and work judiciously to help clients minimize their tax burdens. Our lawyers routinely prepare the following: - wills
- living trusts
- irrevocable trust agreements
- marital deduction trusts
- generation-skipping trusts
- qualified personal residence trusts
- GRATs and GRUTs
- trusts for minors
- powers of attorney
- advance medical directives
We offer tax counsel for: - minimizing current income taxes
- future inheritance and estate taxes and taxes on retirement
- handling of income tax matters at death
- planning to avoid the generation-skipping tax
- exercising powers of appointment
- beneficiary and distribution decisions under qualified retirement plans and IRAs
We also provide to our clients special assets services such as estate and trust administration services: - consultation and counsel to trust companies and individual fiduciaries
- representation of charitable and non-profit organizations
- the management and disposition of valuable assets
- valuation of private businesses
- planning of beneficial interests under trusts
- advice on the use of family limited partnerships and limited liability companies to maximize transfer tax savings for business and family assets
- planning for foreign holdings
We also render advice with respect to charitable gifts of tangible property and appreciated securities and on "remainder" and "lead" gifts.
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