Nicholas J. Kaster

Nick’s practice focuses on estate planning for simple to complex estates as well as estate and trust administration and business succession planning. He represents individuals and families in a variety of matters, including the preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, other estate planning documents, and estate and gift tax planning.

Nick primarily advises individuals and families on developing strategies and implementing plans that ensure their wishes are carried out in an effective and efficient manner. Although estate planning and estate and trust administration can involve unfamiliar (and occasionally complicated) concepts and terms and sometimes uncomfortable conversations, Nick's practical and realistic approach ensures that the unfamiliar becomes understood and the uncomfortable becomes manageable.

Nick counsels clients and provides sophisticated, confidential, and practical advice on areas including:

Wills, revocable trusts, probate avoidance, powers of attorney, and health care directives
Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
Wealth transfer plans, including grantor-retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, irrevocable insurance trusts, sales of assets to family members, and generation-skipping trusts
Philanthropic planning through the use of private foundations, donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, and gift agreements or other similar vehicles
Business succession planning, including family limited partnerships, family limited liability companies, fractional/minority interest discount planning, and shareholder buy/sell agreements
Disclaimer planning, probate administration, trust administration, and estate tax returns
Court proceedings relating to the administration, modification, or termination of irrevocable trusts

Nick frequently collaborates with his clients' professional advisors, CPAs, investment advisors, and insurance advisors to ensure that each advisor's perspectives are considered, resulting in the best possible outcome. He places great importance on client service and provides comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for his clients’ legal challenges.

Experience

Resolved federal income tax audit of large corporation without imposition of additional taxes.
Negotiated favorable settlement of an employment tax matter, saving client several thousand dollars.