Kleinberg Kaplan has an extensive Estate Planning and Administration Practice. In both planning and administering estates, our objective is to help our clients achieve their goals with respect to the disposition of their assets with the least tax cost while minimizing the risk of potential claims of creditors. We also advise our clients on litigation regarding estates, trusts and related matters.

We are extremely sensitive to the many family and personal issues that arise in these matters and have earned the trust of our clients for our professionalism, discretion and knowledge.

Estate Planning

From estates of $5 million to estates of many billions of dollars, Kleinberg Kaplan’s estate planning group has planned thousands of estates for a broad range of clients including:

• Hedge fund managers
• Real estate owners and developers
• Private investors
• Resident and non-resident aliens
• Senior executives of public companies and major financial institutions
• Entrepreneurs in many different businesses

We have extensive experience in planning for many different types of assets, held in the U.S. and abroad, including:

• Hedge fund management companies, including those with substantial deferred offshore fees
• Closely-held businesses
• Extensive art collections
• Various forms of life insurance
• Illiquid private investments

Our experience spans the usual and the more “exotic” estate planning techniques including:

• Family limited partnerships
• Grantor retained annuity trusts
• Qualified personal residence trusts
• Insurance trusts
• Revocable living trusts
• Dynasty trusts
• Charitable trusts, private foundations and private operating foundations
• Offshore and domestic asset protection trusts
• Intentionally defective grantor trusts
• Trusts the grantor or beneficiary can effectively control (we call them “transparent trusts”)
• Structures to achieve the future safety of assets from claims of creditors, in-laws and others
• Private placement life insurance
• Planning for clients’ possible future disability
• Planning for the continuity of businesses in the event of the loss of key principals
• Using techniques to amend supposedly irrevocable, un-amendable trusts to reflect our clients’ changing objectives and add tax efficiency

Estate Administration

We currently represent numerous estates in administration. Working with the executors and trustees, we handle all of the required legal matters, prepare or coordinate the preparation of all necessary estate and trust tax returns, and advise our clients on numerous related income tax matters. During the administration of an estate there are frequently opportunities for additional planning.

Family Offices

Our team has significant experience counseling families on the creation and operation of family offices. We provide family offices with comprehensive legal services including estate and tax planning, succession and continuity planning, asset protection, entity formation, regulatory and compliance advice and filings, and real estate leases and transactions.