Meltzer Lippe’s Private Wealth, Estates & Trusts practice advises high-net-worth individuals, and families on the preservation and transfer of wealth across generations.
Our clients include family business owners, real estate investors and developers, fund managers and investment principals, entertainers, entrepreneurs and senior corporate executives.
Our attorneys serve as trusted advisors to families navigating complex financial, personal and business decisions. We design and implement thoughtful planning strategies tailored to each client’s goals, family structure and financial circumstances, integrating estate and income tax planning, tax efficiency, asset protection and business succession planning.
We help clients both domestically and internationally and we have substantial experience with both inbound and outbound cross-border income tax, estate, and trust planning matters.
Working closely with colleagues in our Corporate, Real Estate, Litigation and Tax practices, we provide coordinated solutions designed to protect wealth, minimize risk and support long-term business and family objectives.
The firm’s Private Wealth, Estates & Trusts Practice Group is recognized by leading legal and business publications, including U.S. News & World Report, which ranks the practice nationally Tier 1 for Estates & Trusts. Our attorneys are highly credentialed leaders in the field and include Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers honorees, law professors, American Bar Association section leaders and attorneys trained at some of the nation’s most respected law firms. Members of the practice are also sought after and recognized by prominent publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Crain’s New York Business, for their professional opinions within the industry. With experience advising clients with assets and interests across multiple jurisdictions, our practice is global in scope.
Trust & Estates Planning
We advise individuals and families on comprehensive estate planning strategies designed to preserve wealth and ensure the orderly transfer of assets across generations.
Our attorneys work closely with clients and their team to develop plans that reflect their personal priorities, financial goals and family dynamics. In addition to minimizing taxes, effective estate planning also anticipates potential risks — helping to minimize family disputes, protect beneficiaries from creditors or divorce, and structure inheritances in ways that support responsible stewardship of family wealth.
Our services include:
- Drafting wills and revocable trusts
- Creating and administering irrevocable trusts in favorable jurisdictions for the preservation, transfer of wealth and to minimize or avoid state and local taxes
- Planning for liquidity events such as the sale of a business
- Lifetime gifting strategies to minimize estate, gift, GST taxes
- Estate freeze strategies such as sales to grantor trusts, GRATs, and freeze partnerships
- Planning for minor children and special needs beneficiaries
- Utilizing Family limited partnerships and LLC structures to maximize investment control and protection
- Structuring family governance with entities and private trust companies
- Planning for closely held businesses and investment assets
- Integration of estate, tax and succession planning
- Charitable planning
Trust & Estate Administration
Administering an estate or trust can involve significant legal, financial and personal responsibilities. Our attorneys guide executors, trustees and beneficiaries through this process with efficiency, care and attention to detail.
We assist clients with:
- Probate and estate administration
- Representation of executors and fiduciaries
- Preparation and filing of estate tax returns
- Trust administration and fiduciary guidance
- Judicial and non-judicial settlement of accounts
Our goal is to ensure that estates and trusts are administered properly while minimizing potential disputes and delays.
Business Succession Planning
For many families, a closely held business represents their most valuable asset. Effective succession planning is essential to preserving both the stability of the enterprise and the family relationships that surround it.
We work with business owners and family enterprises to develop strategies that support continuity of leadership, protect enterprise value and provide for a smooth transition of ownership.
Many of our clients are entrepreneurs, real estate investors and founders whose personal and business planning must be closely aligned.
Our experience includes advising on:
- Ownership transition planning
- Buy-sell agreements
- Family business governance structures
- Integration of succession planning with estate planning
- Tax-efficient transfers of business interests
By coordinating with our Corporate and Tax attorneys, we help ensure that business succession plans are both legally sound and strategically aligned with family goals.
Charitable Planning
Many of our clients incorporate philanthropy into their broader wealth and legacy planning. Our attorneys help individuals and families structure charitable giving strategies that support their values while maximizing tax efficiency.
We regularly assist clients with:
- Establishing private foundations
- Donor-advised funds
- Charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts
- Conservation easements
- Strategic philanthropic planning
Through thoughtful planning, clients can support meaningful causes while creating lasting philanthropic legacies.
Tax Planning
Tax considerations are a central component of effective wealth planning. Our attorneys develop strategies designed to minimize estate, gift and income tax exposure while preserving flexibility for future generations.
We regularly advise clients on:
- Estate and gift tax planning
- Generation-skipping transfer tax planning
- Income tax planning for trusts and estates
- Tax planning related to business interests and investment assets
Our Private Wealth attorneys work closely with the firm’s Taxation practice, allowing clients to benefit from integrated advice on estate, gift and income tax issues that arise in connection with wealth planning, business ownership and investment activities.
Learn more: Taxation Practice Group
Learn more: Tax-Exempt Organizations
Trust & Estate Litigation
Disputes involving trusts and estates can be complex and emotionally sensitive. Meltzer Lippe’s Trust & Estate Litigation team represents fiduciaries, beneficiaries and family members in a wide range of contested matters.
Learn more: Trust & Estate Practice Group
International Tax and Estate Planning
We advise U.S. and international clients on cross-border wealth planning issues involving international assets, residency considerations and complex tax rules.
Our experience includes:
- Planning for non-resident aliens with U.S. assets
- Estate planning for U.S. citizens with international holdings
- Cross-border trust structures
- International reporting and compliance considerations
By coordinating with the firm’s Taxation and Corporate attorneys, we help clients navigate the complexities of global wealth planning.
Asset Protection
Protecting wealth from potential risks is a critical component of long-term planning. Our attorneys help clients structure their assets in ways designed to reduce exposure to creditors, litigation and other financial risks.
Strategies may include:
- Trust structures designed to protect family assets
- Family limited partnerships and LLCs
- Strategic ownership structures for investment and real estate holdings
- Coordination with estate and succession planning strategies
Through proactive planning, we help clients safeguard the wealth they have worked to build.