Individuals and Families

We handle the gamut of issues pertaining to individuals and families, including:

  • Individual tax and estate planning
  • Family wealth planning
  • Complex issues affecting high net-worth individuals
  • Family and Domestic Relations Law issues, including premarital and post-marital agreements, cohabitation agreements, legal separation and dissolution of marriage matters including child custody, financial support, and community and separate property.
Successful Outcomes
  • Represented family in personal bankruptcy of family member, to buy debtor's interests in family businesses from Chapter 7 trustee in court-approved sale and avoid outsiders acquiring those interests.
  • Assisted clients in using IRS-approved estate planning technique to transfer a portion of the family business, worth several hundred million dollars, to their children with zero gift tax.
  • Enabled a parent to lend $30 million to a trust for a child through creative life insurance planning. The funds were used to purchase a $180 million life insurance policy on the child for the benefit of the grandchildren. Less than $1 million of gift tax exemption was used.  
  • Defeated IRS attempt to assess over $500 million in estate tax. A complete victory for the estate.
  • Represented beneficiaries of a family trust in a contested estate trial. Succeeded in having a neutral trustee established and winning a $22 million judgment for our clients
  • Successfully represented a member of a famed rock band in securing an IRS tax refund in excess of a quarter million dollars.
  • Represented a trustee falsely accused of various breaches of trust and settled with no financial harm to trustee.