ESTATE PLANNING

The estate planning practice at Schulman and Associates includes Attorneys  experienced in preparing and implementing various succession plans and strategies for clients involving Advance Directives, including Durable Powers of Attorney for Financial Matters, Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care, and Living Wills; Wills, including "Pourover" Wills and Wills providing for Testamentary Trusts; Revocable Living Trusts, for probate avoidance and Federal Estate Tax planning purposes, along with important related trust funding instruments; Special Needs Trusts; Irrevocable Trusts, including Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Irrevocable Children's Trusts, Irrevocable Grandchildren's Trusts, and Charitable Trusts; and also Family Limited Partnerships and LLCs.

The estate planning practice focuses on achieving clients' goals through appropriate and orderly testamentary arrangements that minimize administration costs and Federal Estate and Gift Tax consequences.  Asset protection and generation-skipping strategies may also be utilized where appropriate. 

PROBATE LAW

The attorneys involved with Probate practice at Schulman and Associates work with clients in connection with all aspects of probate administration.  The attorneys provide comprehensive representation in the settlement of decedents' estates and assist clients with the preparation of required Probate Court filings, Inventories, and Accountings, and advise clients regarding estate management issues such as marshalling assets, satisfying debts and taxes of decedents, and closing estates.  The attorneys can also represent trustees, successor trustees, and beneficiaries in connection with the administration of trusts.

BUSINESS LAW

The attorneys dedicated to the Business law practice at Schulman and Associates involves the formation of business entities such as corporations (including nonprofit and professional corporations), limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and other business associations for clients.  By providing such services as annual meeting resolution preparation, shareholder agreements, buy-sell planning, business planning, and business succession planning, the attorneys also meets the ongoing needs of his business clients.

ADVANCED IRA PLANNING STRATEGIES

The attorneys at Schulman and Associates they assist clients in the growing area of Self-Directed IRA planning and implementation.

Self-directed individual retirement accounts (IRA) are important tax instruments that allow business owners and self-employed people to gain the advantages of tax deferment strategies that Congress has approved. If you think that a self-directed IRA may be right for you, the tax law attorneys at Schulman and Associates can help. The attorneys have the experience, knowledge, and professional resources available to help you establish and administer your self-directed IRA or other retirement plan. The attorneys also work directly with independent accountants and tax professionals, including your own if you prefer, to make sure that you are taking advantage of every tax strategy and opportunity that self-directed IRAs make available.

You are invited you to learn more about self-directed IRAs. Contact our offices to discuss your retirement plan or self-directed IRA goals. We are ready to help you meet your retirement objectives.

Contact our offices to learn more about how a self-directed IRA may be right for your retirement and estate preservation plans.

The term self-directed IRA refers to any individual retirement account (traditional or Roth) that gives clients more investment control by allowing clients to direct their IRA assets into nontraditional investments.

For example, in addition to the usual IRA investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and CDs), a self-directed IRA may invest in real estate, options, limited partnership interests, or anything else the law (and your IRA trustee/custodian) allows. In fact, there are few restrictions on the types of investments permitted. There are only two: life insurance contracts as described in IRC 408(a)(3) and collectibles as described in IRC 408(m)(1) & (2) (Collectibles include, for example, artwork, stamps, wine, and antiques)

The attorneys at Schulman and Associates provide clients with proper education and understanding of the benefits and responsibilities of participating in a self directed IRA. The education includes how to find a trustee or custodian that specializes in self-directed IRAs. The client will be provided questions to concerning costs and fees so the client will understand the expenses involved--some trustees charge transaction fees and/or asset-based fees, depending on the particular investment.

The client must be aware of the prohibited transaction rules. These rules are designed to make sure that only the clients IRA, and not the client (or clients immediate family), benefits from the IRA transactions. For example, the client is prohibited from buying investments from, or selling investments to, the clients own IRA. If the client violates these rules, the IRA will cease to be treated as an IRA, with potentially devastating tax consequences.

Finally, the client needs to understand the UBIT (unrelated business income tax) rules. Even though IRA investments usually grow tax deferred (or even potentially tax free in the case of a Roth IRA), if the clients IRA conducts certain business activities, or has debt-financed income, then that  IRA could be taxed currently on all or part of the income generated.

The attorneys at Schulman and Associates can also assist client's financial professionals to help them weigh the benefits and risks of a self-directed IRA, and they help you to determine if it's the right choice for you.

TAX CONTROVERSIES

The attorneys at Schulman and Associates assist clients with tax controversies. The tax controversy attorneys at Schulman and Associates represent clients with tax problems or tax disputes. Tax problems vary from client to client and the services are customized to address the individual needs of each case.

The goal is to provide the best overall solution for the specific tax problems of each client. The process begins with gathering information and collecting relevant documentation the client may have in order to enable the attorney to understand the client situation. Then, the attorney can provide potential courses of action for resolution by implementing the appropriate steps to resolve the tax issues. Throughout the process the client is informed of and involved in each stage of the resolution.

The attorneys at Schulman and Associates understand that dealing with the Internal Revenue Service and the Michigan Department of Revenue can be a very time consuming, frustrating, and extremely stressful experience. The attorneys at Schulman and Associates are ready to take that stress off your shoulders and to give you confidence in knowing that your tax issue is getting the professional attention that it deserves. Let the attorneys at Schulman and Associates be your tax controversy solution. Contact our Firm today.