FOR PROFESSIONALS

Providing services in the field of trusts and estates collectively for 50 years, the attorneys at Schooley Law Firm continuously work with investment advisors, accountants, and other financial planners. Our extensive experience has taught us to take a comprehensive and holistic approach to estate planning. We do not stop there, our accomplished trust and estate attorneys can work with you and your clients on all aspects of estate planning, estate administration, trust administration, and much more.

Our ultimate goal is to help you and your clients craft a comprehensive and current estate plan that meets the needs of today while simultaneously planning for the needs of generations to come. Executing estate planning documents is a critical step toward a complete estate plan; however, coordinating instruments of title, beneficiary designations, deeds, and transfer on death designations is equally important. In addition to a complete estate plan, we provide advice about how to fund trusts so that titling and beneficiary designations may be updated according to our recommendations. Our referral partners continue to confidently refer their clients and loved ones to our firm as welcome additions to their client’s teams.

Together we develop a holistic estate plan that is tailored to the unique needs of our mutual clients.

WAYS WE CAN SERVE YOU:

  • While some clients come to us knowing exactly what goes into creating an estate plan, most of our clients just know it's something they need to have. Since an estate plan reflects your life, each estate plan Schooley Law Firm creates is unique to the individual or family we help. We have represented clients that run the gamut: from high net worth individuals who are closely held business owners, large land owners, persons with multigenerational wealth or large art holdings, to blended families trying to ascertain how to fairly and responsibly develop and execute a plan.

  • A financial advisor, bank, or trust company may recommend us to serve as a power of attorney, executor, or professional trustee for a client. By asking us to carry out the administrative tasks for an estate and/or trust, your client can be confident that their Fiduciary will be well-versed in tax laws and Estate management requirements taking the burden off of their loved ones. As an advisor, we will work with you to continue to make the day-to-day investment decisions regarding the individual, estate, or trust assets. You will maintain the same client relationship as we serve as fiduciary.

  • GIFT TAX:

    Gift tax is a federal tax on transfers of money or property exceeding the year’s annual exclusion amount. If you exceed the annual gift tax exclusion, you must file a gift tax return with the IRS. Gifting over the annual exclusion does not necessarily mean that you have to pay a gift tax, it just means you will need to file IRS Form 709 to disclose the gift and the excess of your contribution will be added toward your lifetime gift tax exclusion. However, once you exhaust your lifetime exclusion, you may begin to owe gift taxes.

    Our professionals are here to assist clients in preparing returns, determining remaining lifetime exclusions, and to also offer advised planned giving.

    ESTATE TAX:

    You might think that one advantage of death is no longer paying taxes – we’re sorry to disappoint you. While all estates must file income tax returns if they produce an annual income of $600 or more, much larger estates may be subject to an estate tax or wish to file an estate tax return in order to port any remaining unified credit to a surviving spouse. At Schooley Law Firm, we have a team of professionals who are well-versed in the complexities of filing Estate Tax Returns.

    There are very firm deadlines for Estate Tax returns, so if your client needs help, contact us as soon as possible and we can help you identify the deadlines and make a plan to get the necessary returns filed.