Estate Planning & Administration

We have been planning the estates of our clients for many years. Our estate administration practice is efficient and timely.

RPB has been planning the estates of its clients for decades. Our estate planning and administration practice is efficient and timely.

We all are mortal. Estate planning involves looking at your options now because when facts change, such as the sudden death of a spouse, those actions may be foreclosed. For example, if you are young and single, estate planning involves making a will, documenting who will make financial and health care decisions for you if you become disabled, and carrying enough life and disability insurance to be sure that you will not be a burden to your family. As you get older, you need to think about long term disability, retirement, and taxes. Our attorneys are skilled at helping sort through the tax and legal issues that you will face in dealing with this inevitability. We are experienced in will and trust preparation and minimization of death taxes – in other words, keeping more of what you have earned for family or favorite charities.

After the death of a loved one, the survivor must administer the estate or trust. This requires the filing of documents in Court, specialized tax return filings, and confronting issues that most have never previously encountered. Our legal and paralegal staff help grieving families deal with these issues in a caring, yet efficient and professional manner.

Charitable giving not only provides personal satisfaction, it also minimizes estate taxes and may generate immediate income tax benefits, both federal and state. Our attorneys are experienced in the preparation and administration of charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, grantor-retained annuity trusts, and other charitable giving instruments.

Whatever estate plan you may choose, be sure you understand all of the provisions of draft documents presented to you, whether by our attorneys or anyone else.

Spendthrift Trusts in Virginia - Not As Protective As They Used To Be
By John F. Rodgers