Wealth Preservation & ESTATE PLANNING

The attorneys at Caldwell East & Finlayson PLLC who practice in the Wealth Preservation and Estate Planning Group focus their practice on many facets of wealth preservation planning, estate planning, legacy planning, probate and trust administration, asset protection planning, trust and estate litigation, charitable gift planning and related areas of tax, trust and fiduciary law. The Wealth Preservation and Estate Planning Practice Group performs vital estate, financial, and tax planning for clients of various economic means and family situations.  Our attorneys have represented a broad range of family businesses and individual clients ranging from those with assets valued at over one billion dollars to those with holdings of several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Firm’s attorneys advise individual and business clients about strategies for preserving wealth and transferring it to their families or other beneficiaries. Our clients have diverse backgrounds, professions, family circumstances and asset holdings. They include owners of closely-held businesses, owners of farms and ranches, senior executives of publicly-held corporations, individuals with substantial inherited wealth, professionals such as doctors, lawyers and educators and extended families with complex asset holdings and family offices. Our wealth preservation and estate planning for these diverse clients must be customized to individual circumstances and objectives and the Firm’s attorneys deliver skilled services based on the needs of our clients.

Our many years of experience have exposed us to a wide variety of situations and have taught us to be good listeners and to respond timely to our client’s concerns. Our clients typically want more than strategies to minimize taxes. They seek our judgment about the protection of wealth from creditors, failed marriages and possible fiscal irresponsibility of beneficiaries. They want our views about the impact of wealth on younger family members and our suggestions about educating younger generations on wealth management and philanthropy.

Our estate planning work generally leads to the preparation of wills, trust agreements (revocable or irrevocable), powers of attorney, and living wills and in appropriate cases, limited partnership, limited liability company documents and buy-sell agreements. Our planning documents are drafted for the unique circumstances of every client and reflect emerging legal and tax issues, and, most importantly, are customized to fit the particular circumstances of each client.

Steven J. Clausen, who leads this practice group, has over 31 years of experience in this area, including over 7 years as the head of the Wealth Preservation Groups in two large firms, and takes great pride in the prompt delivery of the following services that add value and deliver results for the Firm’s clients.