Estate Planning and Administration

Whether you’re just starting out—or whether you’re looking back at all the hard work it took to get where you are today—it’s important to protect your assets and build upon them for the future. This essential task should be entrusted to a professional who cares, and who is highly trained and educated on how best to create and preserve your assets.

Since Tom McCuiston is a CPA as well as an attorney, he is fully aware of the interplay between estate taxes and North Carolina probate law. Beginning with your initial conference, he employs his unique combination of education and experience in tax, coupled with his desire to protect your assets, to minimize income, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. He also has experience addressing the estate planning issues of foreign nationals, and has worked with numerous Canadian and South African clients.

McCuiston Law Offices provides expertise with all of your estate planning needs. With our broad range of services and understanding of what you’re looking for, we are able to tailor an estate plan to fit your unique needs. During your initial conference, common questions that Tom will address with you include:

• Who will serve as the guardian of my children?
• Can I set up a trust so that the kids don’t get everything outright at 18?
• What happens to my retirement plan?
• What if I have specific items that I want to give to my kids?
• Where should I keep my will?
• Do I need a power of attorney or health care power of attorney?
• Does my executor or trustee get paid for his services?
• Should I set up a living trust?
• What happens if I die without a will?
• What are the probate fees in North Carolina?
• Does my ex-spouse receive any of my assets?

Some of the estate planning services we offer:

• Wills and Trusts
• Durable Powers of Attorney
• Health Care Powers of Attorney
• Living Wills
• Family Limited Partnerships and LLCs
• Deeds
• Minor’s Trusts
• Charitable Trusts
• Charitable Planning
• Wealth Management
• Special Needs Trusts
• Revocable or Living Trusts
• Marital and Credit Shelter Trusts
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
• Disclaimers
• Planning for Non-citizens
• “Estate freezing” Techniques
• Family Business Continuation Plans
• Conservation Easements
• Retirement Plans and IRA Distribution Planning.

Furthermore, once your estate plan is in place, it is imperative that it is properly administered. At McCuiston Law Offices, we work closely with executors, administrators, guardians, trustees, and beneficiaries to be sure they are informed and comfortable with the entire process. We will guide them through every step of the way, including:

• Beginning probate proceedings
• Collecting information for tax return preparation
• Advising clients on the determination, accounting treatment, and valuation of estate assets
• Choosing the right tax-favored elections, deductions, and method of estate tax payments
• Ensuring payment of claims, expenses, and taxes
• Providing instruction on how to dispose of and distribute estate assets.