Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration

The Wills, Trusts, and Estate Team at Barton provides the personal advice and attention that clients would expect from a long-time family lawyer, while utilizing the financial acumen and resources of a sophisticated corporate law firm.

Estate Planning

Barton places particular emphasis on the preservation of wealth and the minimization of gift and estate taxation. We provide innovative personal and tax planning to clients, including charitable planning and planning for disabled beneficiaries. Barton’s team has extensive experience preparing and executing:

  • Wills
  • Trusts
  • Health care proxies
  • Living wills
  • Powers of attorney
  • Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

For clients who own closely held companies, the firm’s attorneys can implement plans to ensure continuity of control, minimize transfer tax, transfer assets among family members and generations, smoothly change control of family businesses, and make creative charitable donations. Among other services, our attorneys create business succession plans for owners of closely held businesses and also help create and administer partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.

Barton also provides counsel in connection with valuation, preservation, and transfer of every kind of major asset, from airplanes and art collections to ranches and commercial real estate.

Estate Administration

Barton routinely represents executors and trustees in the administration of large and complex trusts and estates, in the preparation and filing of Federal and New York State estate tax returns, and in the preparation of estate and trust accountings. We handle contested and non-contested probate and trust matters for executors, trustees, and beneficiaries.

International Clients

Barton’s Wills, Trusts, and Estates Department represents U.S. citizens, non-citizen residents, and foreign nationals on a global basis. Our attorneys often address multi-jurisdictional issues within the U.S. and also internationally. We strategically respond to clients’ needs, often by crafting estate plans using certain structures and entities, either alone or in combination. These can include:

  • Domestic and foreign limited partnerships
  • Corporations
  • Limited liability companies
  • Private trust companies
  • Private and charitable trusts

These structures are intended to provide long-term wealth transfer planning while ensuring a minimum of income, gift, estate, and other U.S. and non-U.S. transfer and asset-based taxes.

Our team has a network of skilled professionals to assist in the planning and estate administration process. Our attorneys work closely with accountants, financial institutions, registered investment advisors, certified financial planners, and others to ensure our clients’ goals are met. Our team approach ensures that our clients receive comprehensive representation.

Work in this Area

Wills, Trusts, and Estate Administration

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