Estate Administration

After much care and consideration has been put into the crafting of your estate plan, you may wonder what happens when it is time for that plan to be executed.  Our Trusts and Estates attorneys are able to assist executors and administrators of estates in carrying out their legal duties as fiduciaries regardless of whom originally crafted the estate plan.

Our services include preparing and filing all documents and accountings to commence, administer, and formally close estate and probate proceedings; ascertaining and paying valid estate debts; collecting and transferring estate assets to the appropriate beneficiaries; resolving death tax and fiduciary income tax issues; filing death tax and fiduciary income tax returns; and handling tax examinations and audits, where necessary.  We use postmortem tax planning to minimize taxes and to address liquidity issues.  We also represent clients in disputes involving the administration of trusts and estates, including representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in controversies concerning the validity, interpretation, and implementation of wills and trusts.

When it is time to execute an estate plan, you can be assured that the estate administration will be handled with respect and conscientiousness.  Contact a member of our Trusts and Estates group at 800.998.1102 for assistance.

We are your established legal network with offices in Asheville, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, and Wilmington, NC.

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