Practice Areas


TRUSTS AND ESTATES


Estate and Trust Planning

… Once his estate plan was prepared and signed, he leaned back in his chair and said simply: “I want to do this because I love my children and my grandchildren.” With that said, the ultimate path for his plan was decided. READ MORE

Whether you are married or single, with young children, older children or no children at all, working or retired, an estate plan can provide peace of mind during important changes throughout your life. Having a well-thought-out estate plan is essential to achieving your ultimate goals and to saving your heirs time and money.

Our estate planning services include:

•  Planning for incapacity. If you were to become incapacitated, you would not be able to manage your affairs. Expensive and emotional fights over your care can be avoided by using revocable living trusts and financial powers drafted by our team.

•  Providing for your medical care with health care directives and living wills. Through proper estate planning, you can appoint a loved one to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated.

•  Avoiding probate. Many clients want to avoid the probate system. Through proper planning and the use of revocable living trusts, we help clients avoid this time-consuming, expensive, and stressful process.

•  Providing for loved ones, including minor children. By using trusts, we can protect inheritances from misuse and poor decision-making for a child of any age.

•  Planning for death taxes. Estate planning allows you to minimize the effect of federal estate taxes and income tax.

Trusts

Trusts are very popular.

There are good reasons for that.

For example, a revocable living trust can, among other things:

  1. keep a person’s assets out of probate.
  2. be used to feather money to minors or to adults that need to be protected,
  3. keep your affairs private after death, and
  4. decrease cost while adding efficiency in distribution to your heirs after death.


Probate and Trust Administration

When a relative, friend or loved one passes away, there are often legal issues that need to be addressed. Whether it be with an after death trust or a probate matter, we are here to assist you.

REAL ESTATE


Residential, Commercial and Farm Real Estate Sales and Purchases

Real estate transactions are complicated. It is important to seek expert legal guidance to help ensure that you are making an informed decision. We are here to guide you through the process and give you the legal advice you need to make informed decisions. We are available to answer any questions that may arise during the course of a sale or purchase. All real estate transactions require skilled, results-orientated legal counsel. Those transactions also require legal counsel that is delivered on a timely basis. We do that for you: we are there for you from the initial purchase agreement, during the due diligence process, and through to the ultimate closing.


Real Estate Development

We assist land developers who need experienced legal advice tailored to their specific needs, a timeline, and a fee structure that works for them. Whether it is assembling land under options, drafting complicated easement agreements, helping clients understand TIF financing, or pursuing needed zoning changes, we work hard to help our clients turn their development plans into a reality.


Condominium Developments

We answer questions regarding the potential plan and draft and file necessary condominium documents. We support clients with condominium conversions and the establishment of condominium associations to enforce property regulations. We also assist existing condominium associations with everyday issues after the condominiums are up-and-running.


Cabins and Vacation Real Estate (Cabin LLCs)

A cabin or vacation home is a place to escape and relax, and succession planning is crucial to maintaining these feelings of tranquility.   This type of planning establishes ground rules to provide for keeping the vacation home in the family for generations to come, while preserving family harmony.  A vacation home plan draws on legal concepts from estate planning, real estate, and business law. The properly drafted plan will have an agreement that can cover topics including:

• who can own a share of the vacation home;
• who pays to maintain it;
• what happens if they don’t maintain it;
• who gets to use it and when;
• how to make decisions regarding the property; and
• how to respond when an owner wants to get out of the arrangement for any reason. Each vacation home plan can be customized, and may include any subject that is likely to be the source of conflict among family members of the current and succeeding generations of owners.

Commercial Leasing

A commercial lease tends to last longer and is more difficult to get out of than a residential lease. Commercial leases also tend to have less consumer protection and more terms to be negotiated between the parties. It’s important to consult with an experienced attorney before you sign a lease for your business. An attorney experienced in commercial real estate transactions can help you understand the lease provisions and help you negotiate terms that would best suit your business needs.

Farm Leasing

Farm leasing can also be very complicated. We have negotiated and drafted commercial and farm leases, lease amendments, renewals and terminations for our clients. We effectively represent both tenants and landlords in farm real estate matters, providing practical and effective advice to our clients.

BUSINESS


Business Formation & Planning

Setting up and running a business is exciting but can also be complicated. We are well-suited to respond to the needs of businesses of all types and sizes – from single member limited liability companies to large corporations. As entrepreneurs ourselves, we can assist with business formation from start to finish. 


Business Contracts and Advice

Contracts are the lifeblood of any business, and we have experience drafting and reviewing contracts for business of all sizes.


Business Succession Planning

Often times, a business is one’s most valuable asset. Therefore, business succession planning should be a priority. And as a firm of entrepreneurs, we bring a unique perspective to this area of law. Sooner or later, everyone wants to retire. But if you own a family business, retirement isn’t just a matter of deciding not to go into the office anymore. Besides ensuring that you have enough money to retire, the question of what happens to the business becomes paramount. We have experience with:

• Helping you determine who will manage the business when you no longer work it;
• Transfer of ownership;
• The decision whether to sell or carry on the business;
• The impact of death on the ownership of your business. Business succession planning seeks to address these issues, setting up a smooth transition between you and the future owners of your business.