Estate Planning & Administration

Brown & Connery’s estate planning attorneys provide estate and tax planning services for clients, using their experience and expertise to develop estate plans that achieve each client’s personal objectives and also provide the needed flexibility to adapt to changes in the tax laws. We work closely with our clients’ accountants, financial planners, and investment advisors to create strategies for the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next while reducing tax liability and, at the same time, providing financial security for family members and other beneficiaries. We utilize a variety of estate planning techniques to assist our clients in reaching their estate planning goals, including preparing complex wills, trusts, life insurance trusts, and partnerships, arranging for the lifetime gifting of assets, and creating powers of attorney and living wills.

Our clients trust the firm to provide legal advice on planning for aging and incapacity, as well as advice on elder care, planning for Medicare eligibility, and guardianships.

At Brown & Connery, we also provide estate administration services for every step in the administration process, from qualification of the personal representative to the closing of the estate. We assist the personal representative in the collection, appraisal, liquidation, and distribution of assets; prepare the necessary federal and state estate tax returns, state inheritance tax returns, and the federal and state fiduciary income tax returns. Our attorneys also advise clients on the advantages of tax elections, disclaimers, and other post-mortem estate planning devices. We represent clients in tax controversies, including audits of federal and state estate, inheritance, and fiduciary income tax returns.

Brown & Connery’s attorneys handle all aspects of probate litigation, including the representation of executors, trustees, and beneficiaries in will contests, will interpretation cases, and fiduciary matters.

The partners responsible for this area of practice include Paul A. Mainardi and Joseph M. Nardi, III.