Wills, Trusts & Estates

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our Trusts and Estates Practice Group provides clients with a full range of legal services including personal and family financial planning, and the structuring of relationships with investment and business enterprises. We also draft and negotiate all types of implementing instruments such as trusts, wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies and prenuptial agreements. Our Trusts and Estates practitioners provide financial and tax planning advice and probate and administration services. Our clients include individuals, couples and families with substantial personal holdings, including business entities. We also represent personal inter vivos trusts and testamentary trusts.

Estate and Gift Tax Planning
The Estate and Gift Planning Group regularly engages in the analysis of our client’s financial circumstances, personal goals and tax objectives. The group provides advice regarding ways to minimize estate and gift taxes upon the transfer of assets. We prepare wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, living wills, health care proxies, charitable foundations and related documents. Our attorneys are often consulted and asked to provide advice regarding life insurance trusts, qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), use of family limited (“discount”) partnerships, self-cancelling installment note sales, low-interest intrafamily loans, employee stock option trusts (ESOTs) and charitable split interest trusts. The group also prepares buy-sell agreements, employment contracts and related documents for family businesses.

Estate Litigation and Other Intra-Family Disputes
At Maya Murphy, we often provide representation in will contests and in disputes concerning the distribution or administration of estates and trusts. The practice group provides advice relating to the settlement of disputes arising from the operation or management of family businesses. Regularly our Trusts and Estates practitioners are retained in contested proceedings for the appointment of an adult guardian.

Charitable Giving
The trusts and estates group creates and administers charitable foundations and charitable split interest trusts. The group regularly provides advice regarding tax savings by the use of various charitable vehicles, for example gifts of fractional interests in art and residences. The attorneys are often involved in the negotiation of terms for contributions to hospitals, universities, museums and other charitable organizations.

Estate Administration
Our attorneys are regularly retained to probate wills, and participate in the collection of decedent’s assets, payment of debts, calculation and payment of estate taxes, funding of trusts, and the distribution of remaining assets. The group provides advice on ways to minimize estate and income taxes for the estate and its beneficiaries. The attorneys are regularly consulted for advice regarding the timing and structure of the sale or disposition of estate assets, such as art or business interests.

Family Law
The Trusts and Estates Group negotiates and prepares prenuptial, postnuptial and separation agreements and cohabitation agreements between unmarried persons and/or same sex partners. Our attorneys provide analysis of the income, gift and estate tax impact of matrimonial and civil union agreements. The group advises on ways to avoid disruption of a closely held business in the event of divorce or death. The attorneys in the group often utilize mediation in complex divorce and civil union dissolution cases to avoid the costs of litigation. Throughout the entire process, the goal of each of our attorneys is to place an emphasis on an amicable, non-litigated resolution of matrimonial disputes.

Elder Planning
Our Trusts and Estates attorneys are often called upon to provide advice regarding the continuity of management of personal and business affairs in the event of incapacity. The group prepares all documents related to the designation of healthcare agents and the appointment of adult guardians.