ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE

The Cors & Bassett estate planning and probate attorneys have the requisite expertise and experience to handle the complexities and legal intricacies inherent in the estate planning process. With designations such as L.L.M. in Taxation and CPA, our estate planning attorneys are skilled at minimizing the tax burden on our clients. Protection and preservation of our clients’ accumulated wealth is the hallmark of C&B’s estate planning and probate group. More specifically, the Cors & Bassett estate planning and probate attorneys provide the following services:

1. Estate, Retirement and Liquidity Planning
• Preparation of testamentary and inter vivos trusts
• Crafting of trust dispositions that assure usage of the applicable exemptions from federal and state gift, estate and generation-skipping taxes
• Utilization of the most current estate planning techniques
• Assistance in planning for distributions from client retirement plans to minimize tax exposure
• Drafting of customized beneficiary designations to allow disclaimers, division of accounts and other post-mortem strategies that achieve family planning goals
• Counseling on the selection and ownership of life insurance, including formation of irrevocable life insurance trusts
• Addressing estate liquidity issues to avoid forced liquidation of estate assets in order to pay taxes, debts or costs of administration
• Preparation of federal and state estate and gift tax returns

2. Business Succession Planning
• Drafting documents such as buy-sell agreements to restrict transfers or require redemptions and cross purchases in order to assure continuity in management and succession to control
• Advising business owners in the process of selecting and training family members or others to succeed to management responsibilities and of implementing plans to assure their succession to effective management control

3. Trust and Estate Administration
• Preparation of probate documents such as inventories and periodic accountings
• Non-judicial trust administration in compliance with the Ohio Trust Code and other trust laws
• Litigation of issues involving construction and interpretation of wills and trusts

4. Charitable Planning
• Assistance with the procurement of non-profit and 501(c)(3) classifications for businesses
• Formation of charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts
• Maximization of tax benefits available under federal and state charitable contribution rules

The Cors & Bassett estate planning and probate attorneys believe that top-notch planning often involves a client education component. As our clients are introduced to planning concepts, asked the right questions and involved in planning discussions from the outset of our representation, the expertise of our attorneys is effectively leveraged to provide the highest benefit (often in the form of tax savings) to our clients.

Estate Planning and Probate Attorneys:
Barbara F. Applegarth
L. Barry Cors
Frank M. Diedrichs
Robert C. Hassman
Janet L. Houston
Thomas C. Kilcoyne
Kenneth H. Kinder II
Matthew S. Parrish
James M. Rueger
Teresa R. Wade
David L. Zerbe
Hans M. Zimmer