Overview
Our trusts and estate planning group works with clients and clients' advisory team members to identify personal goals. We then customize an estate plan to achieve these objectives. Our broad and sophisticated trusts and estate planning practice addresses tax and estate planning opportunities for individuals and businesses of all sizes.
Estate Planning
Many individuals perceive estate planning to be a daunting process. Our attorneys explain estate planning options in detail, making sure clients are well informed and understand the documents used to implement their goals. Our experience enables our clients to reduce or eliminate estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, to avoid or minimize the probate process, and to provide tools to adapt to unforeseeable circumstances.
In addition to creating estate plans, we strive to develop strong relationships with our clients. At our clients’ request, we periodically review their estate plans and make certain the plan evolves with changing financial and personal circumstances, as well as changes in the law.
Estate Administration
We realize that even a well-drafted plan may lead to estate disputes. We work closely with estate and trust fiduciaries to ensure their obligations are met. In the event an estate dispute cannot be peacefully resolved, our attorneys guide fiduciaries and beneficiaries through litigation to enforce their rights and recover what they are entitled to.
Wealth Management
Our trusts and estate planning practice utilizes legal and tax techniques to achieve the financial objectives of our clients. Our team of attorneys work in concert with our clients’ other advisers to develop a plan that encompasses our clients’ goals, relationships, commitments, and resources.
Business Planning
We have substantial experience in the area of business planning for owners of closely held businesses, including extensive experience in transfer and partnership issues. We assist clients in the integration of business planning techniques and estate planning by providing advice on the tax and non-tax issues related to the transfer of family businesses, including capital structure reorganizations, buy-sell arrangements, gift programs, and valuation issues.
Areas of Focus
Our attorneys understand that creating and maintaining estate planning documents is an important step in the process in order to ensure our clients’ wishes are properly carried out, that their assets are properly handled, and that their business and other interests are properly managed. To assist clients in this process, the attorneys in our estate planning practice regularly draft and administer complex estate plans for families and businesses, including:
- Wills and Related Transfer Documents
- Living Trusts
- Life Insurance Trusts
- Private Foundations
- Charitable Trusts
- Gift Trusts
- Dynasty Trusts
- Family Limited Partnerships
- Intentionally Defective Trusts
- Marital Property Agreement
- Power of Attorney
In addition to preparing and administering these documents, we routinely consult with clients on strategic business planning among generations and provide counsel on:
- Asset Protection Planning
- Business Continuity and Succession Planning
- Planning with Executive Compensation Benefits and Qualified Plans
- Charitable Planning and Philanthropic Giving
- Tax Minimization Strategies
- Selection of Trustees
- Non-Traditional Family Planning
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Blog Posts
- Advisor Series - Wills vs. Trusts
Advisor Series - Wills vs. TrustsAmundsen Davis's in-person series for advisors is intended to facilitate a collaborative relationship among business advisors so we can better serve our clients.
- 7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Guardians for Minor Children
7 Factors to Consider When Choosing Guardians for Minor ChildrenOne of the hardest decisions estate planning clients face is naming the guardians of their minor children. In fact, the inability to reach such a decision can greatly frustrate the estate planning process for clients, leading them to delay, postpone, or even abandon the process entirely. Although this decision is incredibly important, it can be modified in the future should circumstances change. It is far better to nominate a guardian in your will and then modify it in the future, as needed, rather than having nothing in place should the worst happen.
- Several Amundsen Davis Service Groups Named in the 2026 Edition of Best Law Firms®Several Amundsen Davis Service Groups Named in the 2026 Edition of Best Law Firms®
Several of Amundsen Davis's service groups have been ranked for 2026 in the 16th Edition of Best Law Firms®.
- Advisor Series - Discover the Impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill on Estate PlanningAdvisor Series - Discover the Impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill on Estate Planning
Amundsen Davis's in-person series for advisors is intended to facilitate a collaborative relationship among business advisors so we can better serve our clients. Join us in our Appleton office!