Wolcott Rivers Gates serves clients who desire a tax-efficient transfer of wealth. We routinely assist high-net worth individuals with plans to preserve assets, reduce taxes and provide for their family members.

The planning often includes taking advantage of available gift tax exclusions and creating dynasty and other trusts to reduce estate and generation-skipping taxes. When necessary, we collaborate with our family law attorneys to provide advice about premarital agreements and marital dissolution planning. We also advise executors and trustees in the administration of trusts and estates and all aspects of their fiduciary duties.

We regularly assist business owners in transferring their businesses to children or planning for a liquidity event upon the sale of a business. Transfer strategies include:

• Discounted gifts or sales of minority interests
• Reorganizations
• Creating nonvoting classes of shares
• Restrictive shareholder agreements

Our experienced estate and gift taxation attorneys will work hard to help you achieve estate planning goals in a tax-efficient manner.

We provide estate and gift tax advice for the following areas:

• General estate tax advice
• General gift tax advice
• Gifts and sales to irrevocable trusts
• Transfer of business interest prior to liquidity events
• Maximizing annual and lifetime gift exclusions
• How gifts can reduce your estate tax burden

• 1031 exchanges
• Capital gains
• Alternate valuation elections
• Generation-skipping taxes
• Dynasty trusts
• Settling estates with assets

Additionally, we help our clients take full advantage of the exemptions and exclusions allowed by law.