Estate Planning & Administration

Every client has unique goals, family dynamics, and financial considerations. We take the time to understand those circumstances and develop tailored estate plans designed to protect your legacy, minimize tax burdens, and preserve wealth for future generations. From foundational estate planning to sophisticated wealth transfer strategies, we help clients provide for loved ones, plan for business succession, and fulfill charitable goals.

Our services include wills and trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, asset protection planning, estate and gift tax planning, charitable planning, and special needs planning. We are proficient in implementing advanced wealth transfer vehicles, including intentionally-defective grantor trusts (IDGTs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), generation-skipping and dynasty trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and charitable remainder / lead trusts. We help clients evaluate and implement these strategies as part of a coordinated plan suited to their needs.

For many families, a business, farm, or ranch represents generations of hard work and investment. Our attorneys help clients preserve that legacy, address family dynamics, reduce tax consequences, and plan for a smooth transition of ownership and management.

Our services include business succession planning, buy-sell agreements, entity formation and restructuring, and lifetime gifts, sales, and transfers to trusts. We help establish valuation methods, payment terms, and funding strategies for ownership transitions upon retirement, death, or disability, while coordinating with clients’ estate plans. Working alongside other advisors, we balance the needs of retiring owners, participating and nonparticipating family members, and continued operations.

After the loss of a loved one, families are often faced with legal responsibilities and unfamiliar processes during an already difficult time. We guide personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries, and families through probate proceedings, trust administration, tax compliance matters, and asset distributions with clarity, compassion, and efficiency.

Our services include identifying and valuing assets, addressing creditor claims, interpreting wills and trusts, preparing court filings, and coordinating estate and inheritance tax filings. We assist with the transfer or sale of real estate and business interests, the allocation of assets among beneficiaries, and the establishment and funding of continuing trusts. Working alongside clients’ accountants, financial advisors, and other professionals, we help carry out the estate plan while addressing practical concerns and opportunities for tax planning.

We also advise trustees on ongoing responsibilities, including trust investments, beneficiary distributions, recordkeeping, and reporting. Whether an administration involves a straightforward estate or complex assets and multigenerational trusts, we provide practical guidance to help fiduciaries fulfill their duties and keep beneficiaries informed throughout the process.

All of the attorneys in our Estate Planning & Administration Practice Group have received the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services. The CAP® credential signifies that our attorneys have specialized training in charitable giving strategies and philanthropic planning.

We help clients support the causes they value while coordinating charitable giving with their estate and wealth transfer plans. Our services include charitable bequests, donor-advised funds, charitable remainder and lead trusts, private foundations, and public charities. We develop strategies designed to maximize tax benefits, provide for loved ones, and create a lasting charitable legacy.

Whether you are creating your first estate plan, preparing for the transition of a family business, or administering a loved one's estate, Bluestem Law Group is committed to helping you protect your legacy and achieve your long-term goals.