Our Legal Team
	Thomas H. Ristine Director email | bio
	Phillip S. Kappes Director email | bio
	Jennifer Wheeler Terry Director email | bio
	Kathryn Kunz Director email | bio
	Arlene Morris Paralegal email | bio

Estate Planning

Indianapolis Estate Planning Lawyers

Effective representation of individuals and families is not simply a matter of responding to changes and resolving disputes: it is also a matter of planning and making arrangements for the future. Lewis & Kappes provides estate planning and administration services ranging from simple wills to complex probate proceedings.

A particular area of attention involves business succession issues for family-owned businesses, for which careful planning and asset protection can make all the difference. The estate planning services handled by our attorneys include:

• Preparation and administration of estate plans
• Wills and trusts
• Federal estate taxes and gift tax, credits and exemptions
• Indiana Inheritance Tax issues
• Living wills and appointment of health care representatives
• Guardianships
• Family limited partnerships
• Family foundations
• Irrevocable life insurance trusts
• Charitable trusts and other living trusts
• Probate proceedings and will contests
• Estate administration, trust administration and probate administration

In providing estate planning services, Lewis & Kappes makes every effort to understand the needs and interests of individual clients and their families, in order to tailor a plan that best meets the client's goals in the particular circumstances. Our attorneys work regularly and closely with accountants, financial planners and insurance advisors to deliver a coordinated package of services.

Once a plan is in place, we follow up with clients at regular intervals to make adjustments or reflect changes as needed. Our clients include young couples seeking a simple will and trust for an initial estate plan, individuals with substantial assets calling for more sophisticated tax planning advice, and family-owned businesses making provision for the future. (To learn more about the specifics of estate planning law, please visit this Web site’s Probate and Estate Planning Information Center.)

Please contact us by visiting our contact page or selecting the e-mail of the attorneys listed on this page to learn how we can assist any beneficiary, executor or anyone else with estate planning needs in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, as well as Bloomington, Zionsville, South Bend, Ft. Wayne, Lafayette, Gary and Evansville.

Estate Planning Inventory (Word document)

Article: The risks of using a "will kit" or Internet wills