Smith Alling Lane's attorneys regularly prepare estate plans for clients, review plans prepared by others, and draft wills, trust agreements, advance directives, powers of attorney, community property agreements, separate property agreements, and other documents necessary to implement estate plans. We assist in administering estate plans, including probating estates and administering non-probate estates.

    We help clients plan for long term care, including becoming eligible for State and Federal financial assistance programs such as Medicaid for nursing home care and COPES for in-home, adult family home and assisted living care. 

    Our attorneys take an imaginative but prudent approach to help clients increase and preserve wealth for their own benefit and for the benefit of future generations.

 The firm handles estate planning for all sizes and types of estates, including, but not limited to, such matters as:

• Elder and disability planning, including Medicaid planning and Health Care Directives
• Transfer of business assets from one generation to another
• Techniques for avoiding probate for out-of-state and other special assets
• Preparation and funding of Revocable Living Trusts
• Alternatives for transferring jointly held property
• Preparation of irrevocable trusts, both intervivos and testamentary
• Transfers of life insurance
• Planning for retirement benefits
• Use of gifts and trusts to minimize taxation
• Use of corporate reorganizations and partnerships to obtain more favorable valuation for tax purposes
• Private annuity arrangements
• Charitable remainder trusts
• Charitable lead trusts
• Grantor retained interest trusts
• Solutions for problems arising from special heirs such as minors, spendthrifts or the disabled