Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning

Cummings & Lockwood's Trusts and Estates practice is one of the oldest and most skilled practice groups of its kind in the country serving the needs of high net worth individuals, their families, businesses and charitable organizations. 

Several families in Connecticut and Florida that were among the Firm's first clients are still Cummings & Lockwood clients today.  Generations later, we represent descendants who reside in every part of the world.  We are proud to serve as a bridge between generations -- ensuring that our clients’ values, wishes and goals are maintained. 

We are particularly well-qualified to serve the needs of entrepreneurs, as we are able to coordinate personal and business planning when designing tax-efficient estate plans that deal with the succession of business ownership, intellectual property, environmental liabilities and other business issues in ways that benefit the family and the business.  In sum, we offer the experience that can be achieved through a group of attorneys practicing together, without forfeiting the personal service that has been our trademark as trusted family advisors.

Wills and Trusts

Cummings & Lockwood’s trusts and estates attorneys assist clients with the development of their Wills, which provide for the distribution of property upon their death.  Wills vary in complexity and can be used to achieve a wide range of personal, family and tax objectives.  A “Simple Will” provides for the outright distribution of assets, while a “Testamentary Trust Will” creates one or more trusts upon death. 

Alternatively, if probate assets are left to a preexisting inter vivos trust created during lifetime, the Will is known as a “Pour Over Will” and the receiving trust is often referred to as a “Revocable Living Trust.”  The purpose of these preexisting inter vivos trusts or those created by a Will is to ensure continued property management, divorce and creditor protection for the surviving family members, protection of an heir from his or her own irresponsibility, provisions for charities, and/or minimization of taxes.

Depending upon a client’s situation, Cummings & Lockwood’s estate planning attorneys can assist with the establishment of a variety of trusts, including the following:

• Revocable Living Trusts
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
• Charitable Lead Trusts
• Charitable Remainder Unitrusts
• Dynasty Trusts
• Generation-Skipping Trusts
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
• Spousal Estate Reduction Trusts

Our work goes far beyond wills, trusts and tax returns.  Though we complete hundreds of these each year, we have also designed thousands of wealth-preserving estate plans, created scores of charitable foundations and served as trusted advisors in the management and transfer of our clients’ wealth.

Estate Planning Services

While wealth preservation involves a wide variety of separate tasks and issues, most of the services that our lawyers provide involve the estate planning and probate settlement process , and the ongoing management of family trusts.  A Cummings & Lockwood lawyer's representation of an estate planning client and his or her family typically spans a number of years, and that representation is likely to consist of some or all of the following:

• Gathering Information and Setting Objectives -- Through an initial meeting or series of meetings, our lawyers gather information about the client's family and assets, as well as the specific goals and concerns that the client has regarding the distribution of his/her estate.
• Providing Estate Planning Counseling and Preliminary Recommendations -- In these initial meetings, our lawyers also inform clients on the estate and gift tax system that often dictates much of the tax-planning structure of the estate planning process, as well as the other legal and non-legal issues that impact the formulation of a client's estate plan, including lifetime gift programs designed to minimize the impact of estate taxes on the family fortune, and plans designed to accomplish such results with minimum adverse current economic impact on the client.
• Developing a Customized Estate Plan -- Based on the information gathered in these initial meetings, our lawyers present an estate plan to the client that includes all of the options available for meeting his/her stated objectives.  Using feedback from the client and after further discussions, our lawyers customize the estate plan to his/her individual needs and preferences.
• Drafting Estate Planning Documents -- Once the client selects his/her desired estate plan, our lawyers draft the necessary documents (e.g., Wills, Living Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Deeds, etc.) needed to put the plan into effect.  An important part of this process involves ensuring that a client understands the meaning and effect of the documents he or she signs.
• Providing Ancillary Services -- Over the years, our lawyers may perform a number of ancillary services, such as the preparation of income or gift tax returns or counseling the client regarding the role of life insurance in an estate plan.  In response to major changes in the law, in a client's financial or family circumstances and/or changes in the client's goals, our lawyers assist the client in making any necessary changes to his/her estate plan.

Cummings & Lockwood - The Choice for sophisticated legal counsel.

Alerts & Updates

• Biden Administration's 2024 Fiscal Year Budget Proposals Once Again Threaten Changes to the Estate and Gift Tax System
• Inflation Causes Significant Increases to Federal Estate and Gift Tax Exemptions
• IRS Raises Annual Exclusion and Gift and Estate Tax Exemptions for 2022
• New York Set to Increase Income Taxes on High Earners
• Here Come the Taxes…Maybe?
• The CARES Act Suspends Required Minimum Distributions for 2020
• CLIENT ALERT: Connecticut and New York Authorize the Virtual Execution of Wills in addition to Virtual Notarization in response to the Outbreak of Covid-19
• CLIENT ALERT: IRS to Accept Digital Signatures and Email
• CLIENT ALERT: IRS Postpones Due Date for Filing Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Returns
• Private Foundation Tax Simplified -- May Result in Higher Taxes for Some
• Federal Estate and Gift Tax Rates and Exemptions 2017-2026
• Connecticut Estate and Gift Tax Rates and Exemptions 2017-2026
• Uniform Lifetime Table for Required Minimum Distributions From Traditional IRAs*
• IRS Confirms Gifts Using Higher Exemption Amounts Won’t Be “Clawed back” for Estate Tax Purposes After 2025
• Connecticut Quietly Ends Estate Tax Strategy Previously Available to Non-Residents
• U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Trust on Question of State Income Taxation
• Connecticut Enacts Historic and Sweeping Trust Legislation
• NY Extends the Three Year Look Back for Lifetime Gifts when Calculating the New York Estate Tax
• Governor Lamont’s Budget Proposal Includes Potential Changes to Connecticut’s Estate and Gift Tax
• Client Alert - IRS Proposes Regulations on How the Qualified Business Income Deduction (199A) Will Apply to Estates and Trusts
• Client Alert - IRS Proposes Dramatic Changes in Valuation Discounts For Family-Owned Businesses and Entities For Gift and Estate Purposes
• Client Alert - Tax-Free Direct Charitable/IRA Distributions
• Client Alert - New York Estate Tax Laws
• Client Alert - Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax

Articles

• Back-End Spousal Lifetime Access Trust
• Crypto-proofing Your Estate Plan
• Contracts to Make a Will
• What is a Grantor Trust and How Are Grantor Trusts Used in Estate Planning?
• Greenwich Magazine - 203 Ways to Live the Good Life in Fairfield County
• Major Changes in CT Trust Law Offer Expanded Protections, Possible Windfall for State
• Connecticut Adopts Omnibus Trust Code
• Fractional Gifts of Art
• Greenwich Magazine - Family Matters
• How Does Portability Effect Your Estate Plan?
• Falling From Legislative Grace
• Have You Ever Been Asked to Serve as Trustee of a Trust? What Does That Mean for You?
• Retirement Planning: It's a Good Time to Review your Estate Plan
• Are You Prepared? The Importance of Planning Your Estate
• Cryptocurrency - Estate and Charitable Planning and Compliance
• Modification of a GST Trust Didn't Impact Its Exclusion Status
• GST Tax Exemptions in Jeopardy
• How To Give It Away
• Estate Planning: The Basics
• How to Reduce Taxes with Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
• Is a Revocable Trust Right for You?
• Choosing Fiduciaries to Handle Your Estate
• How to Reduce Your Estate Taxes With Gifts
• 4 Things You Should Know If You’re Planning a Move to Florida
• 7 Reasons Why You Need An Estate Plan
• Choosing a Fiduciary: Professional Over Progeny
• Estate Planning Strategies for Every Aspect of Your Life
• Help Clients Avoid 10 Common Estate Planning Mistakes
• Tax Court Disallows Trusts Charitable Deduction for Want of Charitable Intent
• Gene Wilder's Real-Life Golden Ticket
• UBI Tax Not Applied to Receivables Left by Decedent
• IRS Denies IRC Section 1035 Tax Deferral in Annuity Exchange
• The Fiduciary vs. Sovereign Immunity
• Asset Protection or Abusive Tax Planning?
• IRS "Rolls Over" Where Beneficiary Designation Overlooked
• The Legacy IRA: The Charitable IRA Rollover Part II
• New Federal Bill Authorizes Charitable Life-Income IRA Rollovers
• IRS Rules on Tax Consequences Associated with Early Termination of a Generation-Skipping Taxable Marital Trust
• Improper Payments by Private Foundations
• Legal Underpinnings for Formulating (And Defending) Estate Plans
• Defining Real Success
• Charitable Remainder Trust Pitfalls
• Patching Up Mucked Up CRTs
• Termination of Charitable Remainder Trusts

Books & Guides

• Wills in Connecticut
• Signature Pages for Wills and Self-Proving Affidavits in Connecticut
• Living Wills and Appointment of Health Care Representatives in Connecticut
• Advance Health Care Directives in Connecticut
• Power of Attorney in Connecticut
• Estate Tax in Connecticut
• Revocable Trusts in Connecticut
• Revocable Trusts and Trust Administration in Connecticut
• Drafting Trusts in Connecticut, 2d
• Drafting Wills in Connecticut, 2019-2020 ed.
• Settlement of Estates in Connecticut, 3d
• Death Taxes in Connecticut, 4th
• Connecticut Probate Deskbook
• Probate Litigation in Connecticut, 3d

Events

• 2019 Professional Advisors Seminar
• 2019 Greenwich Client Estate Planning Update and Reception
• Effective Charitable Giving Strategies for Seniors
• WEBINAR - Journal in the Round

News & Press Releases

• Samuel (Sam) J. Raymond joins Cummings & Lockwood's Private Clients Group in Naples, Florida
• Cummings & Lockwood Garners the Top Spot in Private Wealth Law and Private Wealth Disputes in Connecticut in the Chambers 2021 High Net Worth Guide
• Connecticut Enacts Historic and Sweeping Trust Legislation
• Heather J. Rhoades and Kelley Galica Peck Selected as 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” Honorees by Best Lawyers
• Robert L. Lancaster Provides Expert Testimony Before Florida Senate and House on Decedent’s Property
• Cummings & Lockwood’s Palm Beach Gardens Office Named “Trust & Estates Law Firm of the Year in Florida” by Global Law Experts
• Cummings & Lockwood Recognized As One of the Leading Trusts and Estates Practices in Connecticut by Chambers & Partners
• Cummings & Lockwood's Trusts & Estates Attorneys Named 2017 Florida Super Lawyers
• Daniel Fitzgerald Quoted in Article on "Estate Planning Key, Even For Young People"
• Conrad Teitell to Receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils
• Cummings & Lockwood Selected as "Best Law Firm" by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers
• 21 Cummings & Lockwood Attorneys in Connecticut and Florida Named 2017 Best Lawyers in America
• Kelley Galica Peck Has Joined Cummings & Lockwood as a Principal in the Private Clients Group in the Firm's West Hartford Office
• Cummings & Lockwood Attorneys Named 2016 Florida Super Lawyers
• Heather J. Rhoades Named Principal-in-Charge of Cummings & Lockwood's West Hartford, Connecticut Office
• Robert L. Lancaster, Attorney in Cummings & Lockwood's Naples, Florida, Office Achieves Board Certification in Wills, Trusts and Estates
• Mary Beth Crawford Named Principal-in-Charge of Cummings & Lockwood's Bonita Springs, Florida Office
• Cummings & Lockwood Recognized As One of the Leading Trusts and Estates Practices in Connecticut by Chambers
• Heather J. Rhoades Named 2016 Hartford Trusts & Estates Attorney of the Year
• Cummings & Lockwood Announces the Addition of David M. Halpen to Its Private Clients Group in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Videos

• Estate Planning:  When Kids Become Adults
• Postmortem Planning
• Domicile Planning and Moving to Florida
• Choice of Fiduciaries
• Connecticut Directed Trusts
• Connecticut Asset Protection Trusts
• 2018 Federal and Connecticut Estate and Gift Tax
• Estate Planning for Individuals in Their Earlier Years
• Estate Planning for Individuals Interested in Making Small Gifts to Children or Grandchildren
• Estate Planning for Individuals Who Are Ready to Make Large Gifts to Family Members
• Estate Planning for Individuals Whose Circumstances Have Changed as a Result of Divorce or Remarriage
• Estate Planning for an Individual in Their Later Life
• When and to Whom Does a Trust Pay Income Tax?
• Unhappy with the Terms of a Trust? Decanting the Problem Away
• Estate Planning with Portability and Higher Exemption Amounts
• Don’t Kill the Estate Plan -Titling Brokerage Accounts (and Other Assets) in Coordination with Estate Planning Documents
• Intra-Family Loans: Efficient, Simple and Powerful Estate Planning Tools
• Trump's Tax Plan
• 10 Estate Planning Pointers for the Modern Family
• 10 Considerations for Choosing Trustees and Planning for Incapacity
• 10 Tips for Establishing Domicile in a Tax-Friendly Jurisdiction
• 10 Strategies for Passing on Retirement Assets When Your Clients Pass On
• 10 Opportunities to Take Advantage of IRS Interest Rates
• 10 Charitable Planning Ideas That Can Turn Any Client into a Philanthropist
• 10 Challenges When Planning for the Business Owner
• 10 Ways the 2704 Regulations (if finalized) Will Ruin Your Holiday Season
• 10 Things to Consider When Administering Irrevocable Trusts

White Papers

• Administration of Irrevocable Insurance Trusts
• Administering Your Revocable Trust
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
• Digital Assets
• Relocating to Florida
• Protecting and Transitioning Your Wealth: A Comprehensive View of Trust and Estate Planning for Family Offices
• The Importance of Domicile
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
• Gifting
• Revocable Trusts