Wealth Planning

The group’s attorneys are highly experienced in providing individuals and businesses with an extensive range of advice and legal services on complex issues. They are either a CPA and certified tax specialist or have a Master of Laws in Taxation. The group provides comprehensive tax and legal advice in the following areas of wealth planning:

All aspects of estate planning
Sophisticated wealth transfers for individuals and their closely held businesses
Family Partnerships
Wills
Trusts
Planning techniques tailored to the individual

Estate Planning

The group’s lawyers advise clients on the merits of various estate and wealth planning options to craft a unique plan that best serves the client’s goals, including:

Wills
Revocable living trusts
General durable powers of attorney
Living wills
Health care powers of attorney
Educational trusts
Life insurance planning and trusts
Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs)
Charitable Lead and Remainder trusts
Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRAT)
Family limited partnerships (FLPs)
Generation skipping and dynasty trusts
Grantor Trusts

Tax Planning

The group’s practice includes all aspects of federal and state taxation, with special emphasis on:

The formation of business entities
Corporate reorganizations
Mergers and acquisitions
Corporate distributions
Real estate transactions
Section 1031 like-kind exchanges
Partnership allocations
Business sales and purchases
Limited liability company (LLC) taxation
Collection issues
Tax advice on business transactions


The group’s clients include:

Individuals
Retirees
Manufacturers
Closely held family businesses
Medical and professional practices
Retailers
Tax-exempt foundations and trusts
Charitable organizations
Non-profit entities
Trust departments

Probate

While the probate process in South Carolina is relatively inexpensive when compared to some other states, the time involved in the entire process depends on whether the estate is taxable, requiring the filing of a federal estate tax return.

If the estate is taxable, the process may take several years to file the estate tax return and receive the proper tax-closing letter from the Internal Revenue Service. If the estate is not taxable and no estate tax returns are required to be filed, the entire probate process can generally be completed within a one-year period.