The Firm’s estate planners have experience and expertise in all areas of estate planning, including estate tax avoidance or minimization, valuation planning, probate avoidance, transfers in trust, trust administration, family business planning, marital deduction planning and generation skipping transfers. With the ability to utilize a variety of estate planning techniques, ranging from fairly straight-forward and conservative strategies, to complex, sophisticated, cutting-edge techniques, our estate planners can provide services for clients ranging from relatively modest estates to extremely large estates. Our estate planners, who include a number of specialists certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization, will explain the advantages and disadvantages of various estate planning techniques, and help clients design estate plans which accurately reflect the client’s wishes. In addition to providing advice regarding such lifetime services as wills, trusts, family partnerships, insurance planning, gifting programs, powers of attorney, charitable trusts, and other estate planning tools, our lawyers are experienced in post-mortem techniques that may minimize estate taxes or defer payment of such taxes. The attorneys in this practice group have also served as counsel in significant matters involving defense of fiduciaries' conduct, indemnification of fiduciaries, removal of fiduciaries, and breach of fiduciary duty. The Firm also counsels fiduciaries facing difficult situations with respect to communications with beneficiaries and appropriate courses of conduct and action that have avoided potential litigation. Further information about the Firm or the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Administration Practice Group may be obtained by contacting the practice group chair, Michael D. Dowling, at the Firm’s Fresno office, or directly by e-mail at: mdowling@daklaw.com.
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