Practice Areas

Attorney Adler specializes in estate planning, related tax law, probate, estate administration and trust administration. Robert’s practice areas include:

Estate Planning: Attorney Adler helps individuals and families plan for the distribution of their assets upon death through wills and trusts. A will allows you to communicate your wishes clearly and precisely. If you do not have a will, the state may decide how to distribute your assets to your beneficiaries. This is known as dying intestate. You can prevent this from happening by having documents drafted that reflect your wishes.

Probate and Estate Administration: Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a deceased person’s will, appointing an executor of the estate, and overseeing the distribution of probate assets to the named beneficiaries. Estate administration is the process of managing the entirety a deceased person’s assets and debts. It includes both probate and non-probate assets (non-probate assets pass directly to beneficiaries outside of the will). Attorney Adler will guide you through the probate and estate administration process filing all necessary documents with the court and assuring the distribution of estate assets to the intended beneficiaries.

Trust Administration: Attorney Adler assists trustees in administering trusts and distributing assets to beneficiaries, in compliance with all legal requirements.

Tax Planning: Estate taxes can significantly reduce the amount of inheritance that your beneficiaries receive; however planning in advance can reduce and even eliminate these taxes. For example, irrevocable trusts can remove assets from your taxable estate while allowing you to retain some control over those assets. There are many types of irrevocable trusts, for example: irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and intentionally defective gramtor trusts (IDGTs). Attorney Adler designs “tax-smart” estate plans utilizing trusts that minimize New York State estate tax and Federal estate tax.

Charitable Giving: Adler assists clients in structuring charitable donations and establishing charitable trusts or foundations to support causes they care about while maximizing tax benefits.