Spilman’s Private Client Services Group is a multidisciplinary team of trusts, estate, tax and business attorneys whose depth of experience and breadth of client-focused services is unparalleled in the Mid-Atlantic region. Across our eight offices, the Private Client Services Group works as a team to evaluate each client’s unique circumstances, values and goals, and to develop innovative and customized solutions to achieve the client’s objectives. Whether you are a high-net-worth individual or multi-generational family, closely held business, fiduciary, financial firm or other professional, the Private Client Services Group’s focus is on you and providing exceptional services for your needs, big or small, at an exceptional value.

Wills, Estates and Trusts

Spilman’s wills, estates and trusts attorneys assist clients in shaping their futures and the futures of their intended beneficiaries and closely held businesses through the preparation of legal documents and the utilization of both simple and sophisticated wealth transfer strategies. The wills, estates and trusts attorneys’ depth of experience extends beyond estate planning to estate and trust administration and other fiduciary matters, including:

• Drafting and reviewing traditional estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, financial and medical powers of attorney, living wills
• Structuring motivational and protective planning for young, imprudent or special needs beneficiaries and educational matters
• Planning and executing sophisticated wealth transfer and estate “freeze” techniques through trusts: life insurance trusts, sale to grantor trusts, charitable trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, generation skipping trusts, GRATs, CRUTs, and QPRTs
• Crafting asset protection strategies
• Planning for international assets and non-US citizens
• Creating equitable and respectful marital agreements, both before and after marriage
• Preparing Federal Estate Tax Returns (Form 706) for taxable estates and electing portability
• Counseling on disputed tax matters, including estate and gift tax audits, valuation issues
• Minimizing potential tax burden for transferring closely held businesses and providing orderly transfer of control to next generation
• Establishing and guiding nonprofit and tax exempt organizations through their life cycle - formation, application for exempt status, administration
• Mediation services for all wills, estates and trusts matters
• Litigating complex personal matters, including contested probate and trust matters, will or trust interpretation, tortious interference with inheritance, guardian/conservatorships, administration matters, accounting and distribution issues

Federal Taxation

Spilman’s federal taxation team is a trusted partner to business owners large and small. Our attorneys specialize in creating tax-advantaged strategies for business growth and succession planning. Federal taxation attorneys also assist in the formation and operation of tax-exempt organizations and the defense of businesses and individuals before the IRS. Representative matters include:

• Advising owners of closely held businesses on strategies to minimize federal taxes on the sale or purchase of businesses
• Analyzing methods of restructuring and reorganizing a business to eliminate exposure to federal taxes upon the sale of corporate stock
• Devising and consulting on intra-family business succession plans
• Counseling and advising clients concerning flow-through entity taxation matters, such as for partnerships, limited liability companies and S-corporations
• Representing and counseling tax-exempt organizations
• Assisting with choice of business entity to achieve maximum tax advantages and planning
• Resolving contested tax issues by obtaining rulings and favorable audit or appeal results from IRS

Closely Held Business Services

Spilman’s Private Client Services Group understands that your closely held business is more than just a business - it’s personal. The Private Client Services Group’s multidisciplinary team of trusts, estate, tax and business attorneys become part of your team, analyzing your goals and adding value to each step of the process – choice of entity and formation, operation and growth, sale to third parties or acquisitions, or an orderly transfer to the next generation. Spilman’s Private Client Services Group assists businesses of all sizes with succession planning, as well as the structuring, negotiating, and closing of transactions, including:

• Structuring transactions to minimize tax consequences
• Creating operating agreements, stock purchase agreements, asset purchase agreements, and shareholder agreements, including restrictive transfer provisions
• Planning for the smooth and tax-efficient succession of family-owned businesses
• Establishing voting trusts and voting agreements
• Selecting the correct entity to carry out business planning, operations, and tax objectives: limited liability companies, corporations and elections for S-corporation status, limited or general partnerships, joint ventures
• Conducting all forms of due diligence, sale and acquisition transactions
• Advising on general business and corporate matters
• Drafting and reviewing contracts and leases
• Working as part of a team with attorneys within other multidisciplinary groups on employment law issues, employee benefits, financing, etc., to provide comprehensive client service

For more information regarding our Private Client Services Practice Group, contact:

Primary Contacts:

Team Roster: