Estate Planning / Wills and Trusts

Both Bill Cates and Amy Howse handle the firm’s estate planning practice. Their background in tax, business, and estate planning inform their approach and enable them to tackle even the most complicated issues efficiently.

Bill has more than thirty years’ experience in estate planning. Clients appreciate Bill’s comprehensive approach and his attention to detail. On several occasions, Bill has reviewed estate plans prepared by others and discovered flaws in the drafting of the documents or important steps that were missed and which threaten to derail the intended estate plan. By identifying those issues and correcting them early, Bill has protected his clients’ assets from probate and given his clients the peace of mind of knowing that their plan accurately reflects their wishes.

Bill also uses his corporate law experience in conjunction with his estate planning experience to assist families in multi-generational business administration and estate planning. If you have a family business that you would like to pass down to your children and/or grandchildren, Bill can help you take the necessary steps to make that transition as smooth as possible while minimizing estate and gift taxes.

Amy has more than fifteen years’ experience in estate planning. Like Bill, she has extensive experience in family businesses and generational wealth transfers. She also has a strong background in real estate and tax issues, and enjoys coming up with creative solutions to minimize the tax impact of property transfers.

Additionally, her experience in probate and trust litigation helps her see in advance which drafting choices might be more likely to lead to future litigation, so that those errors can be avoided from the start.

If you would like to prepare your estate plan, or if you need assistance in probate matters, please contact us.