Trusts & Estates

Spiro Harrison & Nelson’s trusts and estates practice handles the drafting of basic estate planning documents and complex trust documents, the administration of trusts and estates, and the resolution and litigation of disputed trusts and estates matters.

We work with clients to determine an estate plan that is tailored to clients’ specific needs, preserves family wealth, and is tax efficient. This involves the drafting of last wills and testaments, healthcare powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, revocable (living) trusts, irrevocable trusts, and special/supplemental needs trusts. Our attorneys will streamline the process and provide clients with an estate plan that meets clients’ goals and memorializes clients’ wishes long after death.

Our attorneys also have significant experience working with executors, trustees, and beneficiaries to ensure a smooth estate and/or trust administration. At a time when clients may be grieving or focusing on the emotional needs of others, we will work with family members and trusted love ones to navigate the complicated estate administration process and/or the intricacies of a trust administration. We will review all aspects of the situation and determine exactly what needs to be done including preparing and filing court documents, collecting asset information, working with tax advisors to ensure that all estate, inheritance, and fiduciary income tax returns are properly filed, handling miscellaneous Surrogate’s Court proceedings, and assisting with the distribution of assets to beneficiaries.

If a dispute arises, our attorneys are equipped to represent executors, trustees, beneficiaries, or other interested parties. This representation includes handling will contests, contested trust matters, disputes over will and trust construction, claims of breach of fiduciary duties by trustees and other fiduciaries, elective share disputes, allegations of undue influence, and administration disputes. By tailoring strategies to individual client needs, we ensure that no two cases are approached in the same manner.

In our specialized trusts and estates practice, we pride ourselves on the care we take in both explaining the intricacies of complex legal documents and matters to clients and in working to understand our clients’ equally complex family dynamics and relationships, as we help them to craft an estate plan suited for them, administer an estate and/or trust, or resolve disputes in what are often deeply personal and difficult matters.