Wise Carter's estate planning and probate lawyers are experienced in all aspects of elder law and provide legal and tax counseling in estate planning, estate and trust administration and estate and trust litigation. In estate planning, services include the planning and drafting of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable general powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney, living wills or declarations, and other instruments designed to accomplish the client's tax and non-tax objectives.

The firm's tax lawyers have considerable experience with the more sophisticated estate planning techniques including the use of charitable lead and remainder trusts, qualified interests under estate freeze techniques, partnership freezes, grantor retained income trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts and unitrusts, spousal remainder trusts and life insurance trusts.

Estate and trust administration services include the prompt settlement of estates as well as advice and counseling in connection with the administration of trusts, guardianships and conservatorships. Tax services also include the preparation of estate tax returns and attention to post-mortem estate planning.

Probate and tax section lawyers have substantial experience in handling estate tax audits with the IRS both at the examining agent level and appeals conference level. They also have a great deal of experience in successfully handling will contests, will and trust interpretation disputes and fiduciary litigation.

Louis H. Watson