Family Wealth

Farella Braun + Martel's Family Wealth Group assists individuals, families and fiduciaries with sophisticated business and personal succession planning and post-death administration of estates and trusts. 

We work with our clients to design and implement plans for business succession and changes in management and ownership of family businesses.  The long-term health of a business requires careful attention to the needs of the business and, at the same time, to the needs of the family.  For the business, planning must address the management transition and the near- and long-term liquidity requirements.  The family's needs involve planning for equitable treatment of family members, implementing any charitable goals and satisfying lifetime personal liquidity needs and, ultimately, estate tax burdens.

We have extensive experience in all phases of estate succession planning to protect individual and family wealth from third parties and excess state and federal taxation.  Our services include preparation of wills, asset protection analysis and planning, and the formation of family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, foundations and other entities relating to the ownership and transfer of family wealth.

Our attorneys prepare revocable and irrevocable living trusts, including charitable split-interest trusts, life insurance trusts, trusts for minors and other sophisticated tax-saving trusts, wills, premarital and post marital property agreements and durable powers of attorney for both property management and health care.  We also advise on strategies to avoid time-consuming and costly probate procedures.

We represent executors, trustees and beneficiaries in the administration of estates, as well as trusts once they have become irrevocable.  This work includes the marshalling of assets, the proper funding of the trusts established for tax, protection and other reasons to be sure the purposes for their creation are achieved, and the preparation of estate tax returns.  In addition, in those cases where disputes arise, we act for parties in litigation over wills, trusts and related documents and relationships, including disputes with the IRS.

We assist clients in organizing non-profit entities to qualify for and preserve tax- exempt status.  We also counsel clients in planning family gifts, philanthropic donations and other charitable considerations.

Our practice is based on tax expertise. The Family Wealth Group's lawyers keep up with the continually changing tax laws and their implications for clients.  We are experts in gift and estate taxes, generation-skipping transfer taxes and fiduciary income taxes.

Our Family Wealth attorneys are actively involved in organizations that support privately held businesses, such as Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises and The Family Firm Institute.