Estate Planning & Wills

Estate Planning & Wills

Estate Planning Attorneys

Estate planning requires knowledge of complex areas of the law. It also requires the ability to understand a client’s most important wishes, priorities, and concerns. Our knowledgeable attorneys guide our clients through valuable planning that ensures peace of mind and smooth transition for their loved ones.

We have extensive experience in preparing a variety of estate planning documents, such as wills, powers of attorney, and trusts, including: revocable living trusts, irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, life insurance trusts, and charitable trusts. We also assist in planning for medical treatment decisions through the preparation of health care proxies and living wills. Our attorneys also counsel clients on income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax consequences and develop plans to minimize these taxes to help ensure that assets will pass consistent with each client’s wish.

Our members have substantial experience in advising clients on the various techniques for business succession planning, multi-generational wealth transfer, and charitable giving. In developing a plan, we also evaluate the estate tax exposure and encourage flexible planning, which will be effective in any situation our clients or their estates may face.

Legal Services Tailored to Your Specific Needs

Our members utilize a team approach, working closely with each client’s accountants, financial planners, insurance agents, and other professionals, in order to develop a comprehensive estate plan, which encompasses the “big picture.” Each Coughlin & Gerhart attorney is committed to developing plans specifically tailored to best meet each client’s unique needs. We help clients understand the benefit of and differences between the use of a will, revocable or irrevocable trusts, and intestate succession. By laying the foundation, we assist our clients in focusing and clarifying their goals, both for present and future needs.

Contact Coughlin & Gerhart: Offices in Binghamton, Ithaca, and Throughout the Region

Whether you are in the initial stages of planning your estate, need assistance revising an existing plan, or have questions about other planning matters, we encourage you to speak with one of our estate planning attorneys. Send an email or call our main office in Binghamton at (607) 821-2202, toll free 800-646-3420.