Trusts & Estates

Ackerman, Levine, Cullen, Brickman & Limmer, LLP

Our trusts and estate lawyers represent a broad range of families and individuals in estate planning, trusts and estates, and wealth management matters. For all our clients, our focus is to put in place estate planning documents, prepared in as straightforward a manner as practical, which both carry out important client goals and provide for necessary tax planning and flexibility. For many high net worth clients, we have recommended and implemented a range of sophisticated wealth transfer techniques. Above all else, we seek to craft long-term estate plans designed to maximize wealth with a minimum of risk, careful attention to ethical standards, and sensitivity to practical and personal client needs and wishes.

A significant focus of our practice is advising clients on issues relating to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. We also advise our clients on other issues concerning their wealth or family situations, including business succession, foundation establishment and management, asset protection, investment risk reduction and diversification techniques, family dispute resolution, trust management, life insurance, and leveraged asset transfer techniques (including the creation and implementation of limited partnerships, limited liability companies, qualified personal residence trusts, and grantor retained annuity trusts). Typically we work closely with a client’s accounting firm on federal and state income tax issues relating to these matters.

Our firm also has a significant estate and trust controversy practice and represents clients in disputes involving estates, trusts, guardianships, family businesses, and charitable organizations, including litigation, appeals, mediation, and settlement negotiations.

Our lawyers and legal assistants are actively engaged in the administration of estates and trusts of all sizes. We administer estates and trusts efficiently and cost-effectively, and we are often able to recommend creative post-mortem tax planning strategies to reduce transfer and income taxes. We have extensive experience in representing estates in federal audits of estate tax returns.

Many of our clients have significant interests in family owned or controlled businesses. We have extensive experience in dealing with these businesses and the unique problems and opportunities they confront, with particular emphasis in the succession of control and the management and the preservation of family and business values. We also represent owners of new and emerging companies in connection with estate planning issues.

Most of our clients are New York-based. A significant portion of our practice involves trust and estate matters which have national and also international aspects. In addition to New York, some of our trusts and estate lawyers are also admitted to practice law in Connecticut and Florida.

We often coordinate our work with our clients’ accountants, financial planners, and other advisers and lawyers. Where necessary or appropriate, we can draw on our contacts with investment bankers, money managers, valuation consultants, accountants, and insurance consultants. We believe that we can add value in any planning situation we undertake because we stress creativity, quality, speed, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.

For more information, please contact Hollis F. Russell at 516-829-6900, ext. 406 (hrussell@alcllp.com).