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Estate Planning Attorney - Probate Lawyer - Private Client Services Law Firm
OVERVIEW

Private Client Services, Trusts and Estates 

We recognize that your priorities change over the course of your life. We work closely with you to provide innovative legal solutions that support your current and future financial, business and personal goals.

Many of our client relationships span generations. We customize sound estate plans and wealth management strategies that target your personal goals. We also have substantial experience in planning and guiding the efficient transfer of assets and family businesses from one generation to the next.

Whether your life situation requires advice about the perpetuation of personal wealth and investments for later generations, business succession planning, leaving a legacy or protecting your family, you will be working with a forward-thinking team of family advisors who approach matters holistically and whose competencies extend across a variety of areas, including:

  • Asset Protection
  • Charitable Planning
  • Corporate Succession
  • Estate Planning
  • Family Governance
  • Family Office Establishment and Administration
  • Gifting
  • Income Tax Planning and Compliance
  • IRS Controversy
  • Pre- and Post-Marital Planning
  • Private Aircraft Acquisition
  • Trust and Estate Administration
  • Wealth Transfer

We understand that people just starting a family have different aspirations and concerns than those who are changing careers or have acquired substantial wealth and want to pursue philanthropic or faith-based goals. We understand the needs of non-traditional families. We appreciate the individuality of each of our clients and we are genuinely eager to help you accomplish your plans.

Our role is not only to help you with wealth transition issues today, but to help you manage your estate throughout your lifetime.

Private Client Services, Trusts and Estates Practice Leaders

Howard Rubin

Howard J. Rubin

Partner
Private Client Services Co-Chair

Minneapolis

P 612-367-8714

F 612-333-6798

Douglas Robson, Chicago Attorney

Douglas S. Robson

Partner
Private Client Services Co-Chair

Chicago

P 312-214-4805

F 312-759-5646

James  Robinson

James R. Robinson

Partner
Private Client Services Co-Chair

Atlanta, Los Angeles

P 404-264-4042

F 404-264-4033

John Olivieri, Indianapolis Attorney

John Olivieri

Partner
Private Client Services Co-Chair

New York, Indianapolis

P 317-231-7304

F 646-746-2001

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EXPERIENCE

  • Advised family office concerning the formation of Series LLCs used to invest in private equity and operation and hedge funds including securities tax and risk compliance.
  • Brad has worked with high-net worth clients to implement various gifting strategies to undertake significant wealth transfers and to reduce estate tax exposure. These techniques have ranged from GRATs and sales to defective trusts, to the use of derivatives and use of complex charitable strategies. A number of these techniques have been completed through the use of asset protection structures, both domestic and foreign.
  • Counsel to family office for multi-generational family with $500 million in assets under management concerning formation and operation as well as SEC compliance, tax, and succession planning issues.
  • Counsel to multigenerational family with net worth of $500 million advising them on estate, and succession planning and the tax efficient transfer of wealth to multiple generations.
  • Created a complex foreign trust that leverages a network of international fiduciaries. The trust provides protection against future creditors who may attempt to pierce the trust to access assets, provides both asset and currency diversification as assets within the trust are invested to diversify across asset class and currency type, and provides tax protection as death of the decedent triggers substantive potential tax protection on the accumulation and growth of assets post-death of the decedent.
  • Created a dynasty trust plan that utilized a promissory note and charitable planning to zero out the potential $200 million estate tax liability associated with the transfer of ownership of a closely-held business.
  • Our client owned approximately 14 acres of property in Northern Michigan that included approximately 250 feet of Lake Michigan frontage on the west boundary of the property and approximately 250 feet of frontage on an inland lake on the east boundary of the property. Our client inherited the property with her three siblings and a dispute arose with regard to how to own and manage the property. We advised our client of her rights to seek partition and we negotiated a stipulated agreement providing for a sale of our client’s interest in the property for approximately 95% of her claimed share of the estimate fair market value of the property. The 5% concession on fair market value was agreed to by our client to reflect the cost of pursuing the partition action and, additionally, the time value of money with regard to then selling the property.
  • Our firm represented a Major League Baseball Player with regard to the negotiation and drafting of an integrated pre-nuptial agreement and estate plan. The client was entering his option year which provided for a final year bonus of between $6 Million and $12 Million depending upon whether his option was picked up. If the option was picked up, the client would also earn between another $25 Million to $35 Million for the option term. The pre-nuptial agreement and the estate plan agreement terms were negotiated on a wide range of assumptions and variables which were dependent upon performance and decisions made by the client’s club.
  • Represented family in formation and operation of a family LLC, the intergenerational transfer of LLC units, and subsequent IRS gift tax audit of such transfers resulting in favorable settlement and transfer of large amount of family wealth to younger generations.
  • Represented high-net worth taxpayers in connection with federal gift tax audit of gifts of family LLC units and interests in grantor retained annuity trusts resulting in "no change" letter from IRS auditor.
  • Represented high-net worth taxpayers in connection with federal gift tax audit of gifts of family LLC units and reached favorable settlement with the IRS concerning the valuation of such units.
  • The firm successfully represented a divorced father's estate against a will submitted for probate. The decedent, who lived in a small rural community, was thought to have died intestate and left all of his possessions equally to his two sons. The sons did not get along. The younger son's wife allegedly found a purported will, which left nearly all of the estate to her husband. The witnesses to the purported will could not be identified. Nevertheless, the burden to disprove the will's validity was on the estate. After interviewing the decedent's doctor, examining volunteer fire department signature records and obtaining the decedent's attorney's entire file (not an easy task, since decedent's attorney had committed suicide before decedent's death), it became known that the will may be a forgery. The younger son's attorney withdrew the purported will from probate without further comment, vacating the trial, two weeks before it was to go.
  • We designed and completed an integrated estate and succession plan for a high net worth client. The value of the estate was $50 million. Included in the work done was the design of a Joint Irrevocable Trust to hold $10 million of Joint Survivorship Life Insurance and a gift tax analysis based upon multiple options reviewed with regard to the design of the Joint Irrevocable Trust. We also conducted an estate tax analysis based upon multiple funding options utilizing Revocable Trust Agreements, the Joint Irrevocable Trust, and additional estate planning vehicles employed. We also assisted the client in funding the Trust Agreements and related, integrated succession planning related to the client’s primary company (which was a privately owned company).
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