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Tax, Trusts and Estate Planning
Johnstone Adams provides considerable corporate, business, estate and income tax planning to corporate and individual clients, including owners of closely-held businesses and individual business executives. Estate planning assures that the disposition of client property can be achieved at a minimum tax cost. After discussing with the client the client's objectives and analyzing the client's estate plan, tax lawyers in the firm can prepare wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and other estate planning documents. These documents are as simple or as complex as necessary to achieve the particular goals of each client.
The lawyers at Johnstone Adams, who include three lawyers with advanced tax degrees, work with accountants, trust officers, and other professional investment advisors, as designated by the clients, to integrate estate planning with current and future investment goals. The firm analyzes and provides advice concerning the impact of federal and state death taxes on closely-held businesses. The firm also recommends methods to reduce the tax burden and raise the funds necessary for the payment of taxes. These methods include stock redemptions and buy-sell agreements, use of charitable gifts, lifetime intra-family gift giving, insurance trusts, and Employee Stock Option Ownership Plans.
In addition to estate and business planning activities, Johnstone Adams represents a substantial number of personal representatives and trustees in all phases of the probate and administration of estates and trusts, including estate and income tax planning.
We have conducted tax and tax refund litigation in all state, administrative and federal courts concerning sales taxes, personal income taxes, corporate income taxes and employment tax liabilities. Tax litigation combines the talents of the tax specialists at the firm and litigators with a substantial tax background to provide the level of service expected by its clients.
The firm further serves its clients by advising those that face risk of exposure to third party tax liability in structuring their transactions in a manner to avoid such liabilities and resulting litigation.