ESTATE PLANNING

From personal experience, Ray understands fully that owning and operating a business, while extremely rewarding, is demanding, difficult, and oftentimes stressful work. This rather unique perspective as an attorney affords him the benefit of being sensitive to and truly understanding of the very particular concerns and needs of his business clients. Closely-held businesses, both large and small, face many issues in their operations. Each day, new and different challenges appear. Strategic planning to address details such as taxes, capital needs and growth is critical in controlling the direction and performance of the business. The ability to face these challenges and issues with innovative and effective solutions can make the difference between success and failure. Whether the business is owned by an individual, a family or a small group, Ray is dedicated to helping his business clients achieve their respective goals, providing counsel for the purposes of growing your business either internally or through acquisitions, seeking private, commercial or public financing, positioning for a sale or looking to successfully transition to a new generation or ownership group. In doing so, Ray advises his business clients with respect to a full range of business legal services, including the following:

• Business formation/choice of entity (based on both tax and non-tax considerations)

  • Limited Liability Companies

  • Partnerships

  • Corporations

  • S-Corp elections

• Purchase and Sale Agreements Shareholder/Partnership Agreements

• Buy-Sell Agreements

• Financing Due diligence

• Business succession planning

• Exit Strategies

Ray is committed to the success and prosperity of his clients' respective businesses. To meet their goals, he collaborates closely with each client so that he may effectively provide the most appropriate and effective legal advice based on the client’s particular situation and circumstances.

Probate refers to the legal process of validation by the appropriate probate court of a decedent's will and appointing an executor to implement the decedent's wishes with regard to the distribution of his or her property according to the terms of the will. It also refers to the oversight the probate court provides for an estate administrator who settles an intestate estate -- one in which the decedent left no will. The process can be anything from relatively simple and straightforward to very complex and time-intensive. As part of his practice, Ray advises clients serving as executors or administrators through every step of the probate process and on how to comply with all aspects of probate administration accurately and completely. A person appointed to serve in either position (and accepting such an appointment) can benefit from sound, thorough legal representation and guidance so as to maximize the value of the estate for the beneficiaries, and also so as to not be held personally liable for losses in the value of estate assets due to errors or misconduct during the probate process. Typically, an executor is not familiar with probate laws and procedure, and some are even surprised to learn the decedent's will named them as executor. To complete the probate process and settle an estate efficiently and in a timely manner, Ray helps executors with the following tasks and responsibilities:

• Filing the decedent’s will with the appropriate probate court

• Obtaining court approval and appointment to serve as executor and posting bond, if necessary

• Locating the beneficiaries named in the will

• Locating and gathering all of the decedent’s assets

• Obtaining a federal tax identification number for the estate

• Opening a fiduciary bank account in the estate's name to hold cash and liquidated assets

• Transferring assets from the decedent's ownership to the estate

• Hiring valuation, genealogy or other experts, when necessary and appropriate

• Paying creditors and claimants

• Collecting amounts owed to the estate

• Paying current and delinquent taxes as well as estate taxes, if any

• Distributing all remaining property to the beneficiaries

With so many responsibilities and steps in the process, it is easy to understand that the probate administration process can feel overwhelming for those unfamiliar with estate law and appointed to act as an executor. Ray works closely with his executor clients throughout the process, thereby helping the executor to avoid mistakes sometimes otherwise made due to inexperience and stress.

Trust administration refers to the trustees’ management of trust property, according to the trust document’s specific terms, for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the trust after the trust settlor’s death. There are many steps required to safeguard effective administration. Ray works closely with his trustee clients to help facilitate the process and give the trustees guidance and counsel throughout their service as trustees.

Some trusts are funded during the settlor’s lifetime, while others are only partially funded or not funded at all. In the latter cases, depending on the will provisions and beneficiary designations,  the funding process must take place. This is the case for not only real property, but also all other relevant assets, such as bank and investment accounts. Title of those assets must be transferred to and held in the trustee’s name.

In the case of significantly larger estates, the trustee is responsible for seeing that any requisite federal and state estate taxes be paid. On an ongoing basis, the trustee is also responsible for filing annual federal and state income tax returns. Throughout this process, the trustee must keep a detailed accounting of the trust. This involves overseeing all trust activity, including deposits and additions made to the trust, as well as the specific distributions made from the trust to the designated beneficiaries.  

As can be seen, there is a lot of responsibility given to the trustee during the trust administration process, and Ray works closely with the trustees to help ensure that they are acting in accordance with their fiduciary obligations under the law, complying with the terms of the trust document, and acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries.