Zeldes, Needles and Cooper’s estate planning group can assist clients with an array of estate planning choices including wills, revocable trusts, health care related documents (living wills and appointments of health care agents) and insurance trusts. The appropriate estate planning documents can smooth the way for a shorter, easier estate administration.
Now that the federal estate tax exemption has climbed to over $27,220,000 per married couple for 2024, fewer clients require estate planning driven by federal estate tax issues. However, Connecticut still has an estate tax applying to all estates that exceed $13,610,000 per person, so a Connecticut estate planning attorney has to consider the effects of the Connecticut estate tax as part of their estate planning. But unless Congress acts to make these exemptions permanent, on January 1, 2026, they will revert to the pre-1017 $5,490,000 per person/$10,980,000 per couple (adjusted for inflation).
Estate planning at ZNC starts with listening: what are the client’s goals, now and in the future? We then gather the information necessary, and work with the client to create the plan, and draft the legal documents that advance these goals. Once our clients are satisfied with the planning, the documents are finalized, executed under our supervision and stored in a will vault. We work closely with our experienced paralegal staff, assuring cost-effective representation and effective client communication.
Our work doesn’t stop with the implementation of the estate plan; we work on a continuing basis with estate planning clients to review and update wills, trusts, and other documents so that the estate plan changes as clients’ needs and wishes change.
