Suzanne D Paulson

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Trusts and Estates

The expertise of our attorneys in the Trusts and Estates practice group offers our clients comprehensive assistance across the full spectrum of estate and family tax planning matters. Our attorneys regularly develop and implement sophisticated estate plans for clients and their families with the goal of facilitating the wealth transfer process and minimizing the family's overall tax burden. Our attorneys work closely with our clients and their accountants, insurance agents, and financial advisors to insure the full coordination and successful implementation of their estate plans. Today, the Trusts and Estates practice group of Leitman, Siegal, Payne & Campbell is one of the most experienced and respected estate, tax and financial planning groups in the state of Alabama. Its practice includes a wide range of activities, including:

* Structuring and preparing wills and trusts, including charitable remainder and lead trusts, trusts designed to hold life insurance, grantor retained annuity trusts, and intentionally defective grantor trusts

* Qualified personal residence trusts, and generation-skipping trusts

* Advising fiduciaries and beneficiaries of estates and trusts and negotiating settlements of family disputes

* Negotiating and structuring corporate, real estate, partnership, and other types of business transactions involving family ownership

* Preparing family limited partnerships, limited liability companies and S corporations intended to address various estate planning issues

* Counseling on valuation issues and advising on the retention of appraisers with respect to income, gift, and estate matters

* Advising clients with respect to qualified plans, IRAs, and other similar tax-deferred arrangements

* Negotiating with Internal Revenue Service personnel, including the obtaining of IRS rulings

* Serving as litigation counsel before various courts

* Creating and advising private foundations, advising clients with respect to their philanthropic objectives and numerous other similar activities

* Advising families in the formation and implementation of business succession plans intended to meet both tax and non-tax objectives

* Drafting pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements and assisting in all aspects of marital dissolutions

* Representing personal representatives of estates in the preparation of federal estate tax returns, responding to litigation by beneficiaries and handling tax controversies with federal and state tax authorities

Our attorneys also work with the owners of closely-held businesses, not only in the implementation of the business, but also with business succession planning and if necessary the restructuring of the business. We help owners of closely held businesses to identify and address issues to ensure maximum, long term benefits.

The Trusts and Estates practice group also addresses an equally broad spectrum of issues relating to advising the family and the implementation of the estate plan upon the death of a family member. We provide probate, trust and estate administration services, handle conservatorships and conservatorship administrations. Our services are personalized to the individuals who have lost family members. We prepare gift and estate tax returns and aggressively represent our clients before the Internal Revenue Service, Appeals Court, Tax Court and Federal District Court to reduce or eliminate gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxation.

Moreover, our attorneys represent both individual and corporate fiduciaries as well as beneficiaries and other interested parties in disputes relating to trust and estate administrations, conservatorships and tax matters involving trusts and estates. We have experience in will contests, trust modifications and terminations, fiduciary obligations and questions arising in trust, estate, and conservatorship matters. We provide counsel to individuals, trustees, estate administrators, and conservators to avoid litigation wherever possible. In doing so, we have significant experience in negotiating and drafting settlement agreements to resolve differences within families and businesses as well as between taxpayers and taxing authorities.

Suzanne D Paulson
Leitman, Siegal, Payne & Campbell PC
420 20th St N #2000
Birmingham AL 35203
Tel: 205 251-5900
Fax: 205 986-5083
E-mail: spaulson@lspclaw.com

Accredited Estate Planner - National Association of Estate Planners & Councils

Practice Areas:
* Estate and Gift Tax Planning
* Estate and Trust Administration
* IRS Estate and Gift Tax Audits and Litigation
* State Court Probate and Trust Litigation

Ms. Paulson's advises clients in planning their estates to accomplish their personal goals while minimizing transfer tax liability. Her areas of practice include estate and gift tax planning, family succession plans, family limited partnership and other planning vehicles, estate and trust administration, IRS estate and gift tax audits and litigation, and state court probate and trust litigation. She regularly represents individuals in their planning, as well as individual and corporate fiduciaries and beneficiaries in the area of estate and trust administration. With 26 years of experience with the Estate Tax Division of the IRS, Ms. Paulson offers experience and insight with respect to audit and examination issues and controversies, preparation of estate and gift tax returns, valuations, legal issues and minimization of transfer taxes.