Practice Areas

The attorneys at Wallace & Cusack, P.A. have extensive experience in providing the full breadth of estate planning, taxation, trust and probate administration, and trust and estate litigation services for clients in Idaho and Washington.  Our areas of representation include:

Estate Planning

We carefully consider the needs and goals of our clients in preparing every estate plan, and provide comprehensive, tax-sensitive estate planning documents individually tailored to each client. As part of the estate planning process we may prepare:

  • Wills, including Pour-Over Wills, which are Wills which work in unison with a Revocable Living Trust
  • Revocable Living Trusts
  • Financial Durable Powers of Attorney
  • Health Care Powers of Attorney
  • Trusts for children
  • Generation-Skipping Trusts
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

We also provide a wealth of ancillary legal services attendant to estate planning and probate matters, including:

  • An analysis of the proper and improper use of the various probate avoidance techniques
  • Ensuring property is properly titled and trusts are appropriately funded
  • Providing a plan for the possibility of subsequent incapacity or disability
  • International estate planning issues/estate planning for non-U.S. citizen spouses, such as Qualified Domestic Trusts (QDOT trusts)
  • Careful coordination of beneficiary designations to insurance policies, retirement accounts, and other assets
  • Preparation of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements

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Tax Planning

Tax planning is an inherent part of the estate planning process, and we advise our clients on estate planning strategies to minimize income, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. We advise clients regarding:

  • Gifting strategies, including use of the annual gift tax exclusion and lifetime exemption gifts
  • Educational trusts
  • Crummey trusts, which are trusts designed to utilize the annual gift tax exclusion

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Business Succession Planning and Business Transactions

Clients frequently consult us when a closely held business is being sold or when a family member is retiring from the business and wants to explore business succession planning options. We structure tax saving strategies to facilitate the orderly transfer of control and wealth to successive generations, including Buy/Sell Agreements and utilizing advanced planning techniques such as gifts of fractionalized interests, including sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs).

We also assist clients in forming business entities, including corporations, Family Limited Partnerships, and Limited Liability Companies.

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Charitable Planning

We advise clients with charitable inclinations on ways to maximize the tax benefits of their contribution.  We counsel clients regarding:

  • Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts
  • Charitable Remainder Unitrusts
  • Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts
  • Charitable Lead Unitrusts
  • Private Foundations

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Asset Protection

In today’s litigious society high-net worth individuals are increasingly concerned about asset protection planning. We advise clients regarding:

  • Limited Liability Companies
  • Family Limited Partnerships
  • Corporate entities
  • Irrevocable Trusts
  • Multi-generational “Dynasty” Trusts
  • Trusts naming a third party “Special Trustee” or “Trust Protector”

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Planning for Disability, Conservatorships & Guardianships

A comprehensive estate plan takes into consideration the possibility of a client’s subsequent disability. Trusts, Financial Durable Powers of Attorney, and Health Care Powers of Attorney serve to protect our clients by providing a plan in the event of subsequent disability. We have significant experience in the area of planning for disability, including estate planning considerations, and representation in conservatorship and guardianship proceedings. We also prepare and administer Special Needs Trusts, which are trusts that are designed to ensure continued eligibility for government benefits for a disabled or incapacitated beneficiary.

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Trust Administration

We provide comprehensive representation and assistance with post-mortem trust administration after the death of a trustor, and also provide assistance with trust administration during the lifetime of the trustor, including advising our clients regarding the use of notices to beneficiaries when a gift has been made to an irrevocable trust (which are referred to as Crummey notices after the definitive case in this area), and assistance with the preparation and filing of gift tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns.

Clients rely on us for advice regarding any issue arising during the administration of a trust, including:

  • The duties, powers, and standards of a trustee
  • Trustee accounting and recordkeeping
  • Investing and managing trust assets
  • Resignation or removal of a trustee
  • Modification, revocation, or termination of a trust
  • Creditor’s rights against the trust or beneficiaries
  • Subtrust funding
  • Trustee compensation and attorneys’ fees
  • Income taxation of trusts
  • Preparation of gift, generation-skipping transfer tax, and estate tax returns

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Probate Administration

Our attorneys have the knowledge and expertise to effectively handle the administration of estates of any size, ranging from simple estates to large and complex estates, including estates involving significant wealth, interests in ongoing businesses, and assets located in multiple states.

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Probate, Trust & Estate Litigation

In the event a dispute arises during the course of the administration of an estate, litigation may be necessary. We routinely advise clients in disputes involving a trust or estate, and are prepared to prosecute or defend cases involving:

  • Will or trust contests
  • Allegations of undue influence, lack of capacity, or improper execution of a will or trust
  • Allegations of a breach of fiduciary duty
  • Trust termination and modification proceedings
  • Objections to accountings
  • Lawsuits seeking to remove or substitute a trustee or executor

We welcome your inquiry regarding our services. Contact Wallace & Cusack, P.A. to schedule a consultation.