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While many firms offer trusts and estates services as an accommodation to their clients, at OLSS it is a principal part of our practice. We bring a technical expertise and commitment to service exceeding that of law firms many times our size.

All partners in the Tax, Trusts and Estates Group have advanced degrees in taxation, and three of them are Fellows in The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a national organization of lawyers and law professors peer-elected to membership. The organization’s members are elected based on their outstanding reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to the trusts and estates field by lecturing, writing, and participating in bar activities.

Since many of our clients are closely held businesses, we understand that the needs of such businesses can vary based on their ownership, management objectives, family relationships, and several other factors. Recognizing the differences among clients, our well-rounded team includes attorneys with different skill sets and approaches, all of whom benefit from shared knowledge within the Tax, Trusts and Estates Group. We work hand-in-hand with our corporate attorneys to address the needs of such businesses from every perspective, including business structure and succession planning.

While our client base is diverse, we know they all put a premium on exceptional service, hands-on attention, and cost-effective representation. We also consider the little things that matter to our clients, such as designing our offices to provide easy accessibility.

Our Tax, Trusts and Estates Group provides highly sophisticated services encompassing a wide range of federal and state matters.

Estate Planning

Our broad trusts and estates practice includes counseling of high net worth families, businesses, executives, fiduciaries, and charitable organizations in conserving, transferring, and structuring the ownership and management of substantial assets. We provide the full range of estate planning services, including the preparation of wills and trusts, business succession planning, generation-skipping transfer tax planning, charitable giving, and the implementation of intrafamily lifetime gift programs and sales. Our customized planning and creative solutions to trusts and estates issues are the result of our extensive experience and ability to adapt our techniques in response to the frequent changes in the tax law.

We also advise clients in connection with premarital agreements, cohabitation agreements, and postnuptial agreements. In drafting and negotiating those agreements, we are particularly well suited to address issues that relate to closely-held business and assets received by gift or inheritance, including interests in trusts. 

Estate Administration

We establish a strong foundation for our clients through comprehensive and thoughtful estate planning. We build on that foundation through our estate administration services, advising fiduciaries and beneficiaries on probate matters, and preparing and defending estate tax returns and inheritance tax returns, as well as providing post-mortem income tax planning.  

Fiduciary Litigation

Our attorneys have particular strength in successfully engaging in matters concerning complex will contests, undue influence claims, elective share claims, and other fiduciary litigation. One of our attorneys serves on the ACTEC Fiduciary Litigation Committee. When we determine that litigation is necessary to achieve a client’s goals, our trusts and estates expertise coupled with our litigation proficiency render OLSS to be distinctly adept at designing and implementing an appropriate and effective strategy.

Income Tax

Our highly-regarded tax team has substantial expertise in income tax planning for individuals, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and other business entities. We advise business clients in connection with federal and state income tax aspects of acquisitions, reorganizations, liquidations, redemptions, debt restructurings, and settlement of complex litigation matters. Working closely with corporate and real estate attorneys at the firm, we structure roll-ups, like-kind exchanges, joint ventures, and other complex transactions in a tax-efficient manner.  We also provide advice to businesses and executives on structuring executive compensation, equity participation plans, business and personal divorces, and investment transactions.

At OLSS, we not only provide advanced tax analysis, but we also negotiate and draft customized agreements to implement the desired arrangements, including buy-sell agreements, partnership agreements, operating agreements, and deferred compensation agreements.  Where appropriate, we will provide formal opinion letters on the tax consequences of specific transactions, or we will file ruling requests with the Internal Revenue Service to obtain definitive tax guidance.

Tax Controversies

We also represent clients in resolving gift, estate, and income tax disputes with state and federal taxing authorities, including substantial federal and state estate, inheritance and gift tax audits.

 

photo of Philip C. Corbo Philip C. Corbo

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photo of Jodi B. Friend Jodi B. Friend

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photo of Susan M. Holzman Susan M. Holzman

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photo of Joel D. Siegel Joel D. Siegel

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photo of Laura N. Wilensky Laura N. Wilensky

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photo of Eugenia Yudanin Eugenia Yudanin

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