• While wealth preservation involves a wide variety of separate tasks and issues, most of the services that our lawyers provide involve the estate planning and settlement process, and the ongoing management of family trusts.  A Cummings & Lockwood lawyer's representation of an estate planning client and his/her family typically spans a number of years, and that representation is likely to consist of some or all of the following:
• Through an initial meeting or series of meetings, our lawyers will gather information about the client's family and assets, as well as the specific goals and concerns that the client has regarding the distribution of his/her estate.
• In these initial meetings, our lawyers will also inform clients on the estate and gift tax system that often dictates much of the structure of the estate planning process, as well as the other legal and non-legal issues that impact the formulation of a client's estate plan, including lifetime gift programs designed to minimize the impact of estate taxes on the family fortune, and plans designed to accomplish such results with minimum adverse current economic impact on the client.
• Based on the information gathered in these initial meetings, our lawyers will present an estate plan to the client that includes all of the options available for meeting his/her stated objectives.  Using feedback from the client and after further discussions, our lawyers will customize the estate plan to his/her individual needs and preferences.
• Once the client selects his/her desired estate plan, our lawyers will draft the necessary supporting documents (e.g., Wills, Living Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Deeds, etc.) needed to put the plan into effect.  An important part of this process involves ensuring that a client understands the meaning and effect of the documents he or she signs.
• Over the years, our lawyers may perform a number of incidental functions, such as the filing of income or gift tax returns or counseling the client regarding the role of life insurance.  In response to major changes in the law or in a client's financial or family circumstances, our lawyers will assist the client in making any necessary changes to his/her estate plan.
• In the event of a client's death, our lawyers will assist the client's family in the sometimes complex process of estate settlement to help ensure a smooth and efficient transfer of the client's assets to the beneficiaries named in his/her Will.  This process includes guiding the client's family through the probate court system, filing tax returns, handling any audits with the IRS and local taxing authorities, dealing with creditors of the client's estate, and assisting with the sale of estate assets to raise cash or facilitate distribution to the beneficiaries.  Or, we may have anticipated such probate problems and assisted our client in establishing a "Living Trust."

An integral part of our Private Clients practice involves counseling with respect to the management of inheritances received by the client's beneficiaries.  Family members often lack the expertise to take on these responsibilities alone and also underestimate the time and scheduling flexibility necessary to discharge such duties adequately.  Moreover, family members may expose themselves to personal liability without any of the safeguards or protections professional fiduciaries routinely employ.  However, our documents will provide, if the client prefers, that the family beneficiaries may remove and replace the designated trustee.

In response to the requests of our clients, the lawyers at Cummings & Lockwood who specialize in estates and trust administration have served as Executors and Trustees for more than 80 years.  The growth of our fiduciary services practice has prompted us to increase our range of services and staff to provide the investment, tax and accounting services required of a professional fiduciary.  As Executors and Trustees, we look to investment advisors outside the firm for investment advice and portfolio management.  We have the flexibility of working with any long-standing investment advisor that the family prefers, and the freedom to change advisors if a client so desires.

The Cummings & Lockwood lawyer who has established a personal relationship with a client and the client's family during the estate planning process can be an excellent choice to serve as Executor or Trustee, or as a co-Executor or co-Trustee in conjunction with a responsible family member.  This lawyer will personally handle or supervise the legal, tax and accounting work with the support of other experienced lawyers and fiduciary accountants within the Firm.  By consolidating these services within Cummings & Lockwood, rather than fragmenting them among a group of unrelated advisors, clients can achieve significant cost savings while ensuring that values, wishes and goals are maintained across family generations.