Probate and Estate Administration

We represent Personal Representatives in administering the estates of decedents. Our work includes identifying, gathering, and valuing all property of the decedent and advising Personal Representatives in all aspects of the estate settlement process – from the filing of the probate petition to the closing of the estate. We are experienced in preparing sophisticated federal and Massachusetts estate tax returns that include difficult to value assets, Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) elections, discounts for closely held businesses and family limited partnerships, generation-skipping transfer tax exemption allocations, and portability elections. Finally, we advise Personal Representatives in making distributions to beneficiaries and funding trusts.

Recent engagements include:

• Designing and preparing a series of qualified disclaimers to fix a “broken” estate plan post-mortem.
• Interpreting the terms of a large trust for the benefit of a decedent who died intestate so that trust assets passed in the most advantageous manner.
• Representing the Personal Representative of a large illiquid estate in an audit with the Internal Revenue Service that focused on the allowance of discounts in valuing a closely held business.
• Preparing federal and Massachusetts estate tax returns that report assets and investments that are difficult to value.
• Advising the fiduciaries of a large estate upon the death of the first spouse to maximize use of the federal exemption by gifting and funding trusts for the surviving spouse and descendants.