Douglas Bradford Kniskern

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Estate Planning & Probate Administration

Our attorneys are skillful in helping clients to formulate and implement their estate planning objectives in a tax-efficient manner, and are well-equipped to handle even the most complex estate planning situations. We have the knowledge and expertise to utilize sophisticated estate and tax planning techniques such as family limited partnerships (FLPs), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and other types of trusts. We are also adept in counseling our clients in providing for the special needs of family members and the long-term protection and management of family assets. Our attorneys provide legal assistance with probate proceedings, guardianship proceedings, issues regarding elderly and minor family members, and health care and property decisions.

Our clients include families and individuals, residing within the United States and abroad, and range from young entrepreneurs and executives to elderly retirees. We also represent charitable organizations, banks, trust companies, and closely-held businesses.

We advise executors, trustees, and beneficiaries of trusts and estates on all aspects of estate and trust administration, including fiduciary duties and powers, tax planning, and court filings, and provide litigation services in connection with trust and estate accountings and document interpretation.

Our services include:
* Preparing wills, trust instruments, intra-family agreements, pre-marital agreements, and related documents
* Counseling regarding the structuring of estate and other valuation freezes
* Providing counseling for disabled beneficiaries
* Handling the day-to-day administration of complex estates and trusts, including those holding a substantial ownership interest in real estate and business enterprises
* Counseling on business structuring and control issues, including the creation of family limited partnerships and limited liability companies, as well as the establishment of various levels of equity participation
* Advising businesses on succession issues and establishing plans to transfer ownership and control of businesses to the next generation of owners through vehicles such as shareholder “buy-sell” agreements and reorganizations
* Counseling on life insurance planning techniques
* Creating family gift and charitable gift programs, including the preparation of private foundation charitable trusts
* Assisting highly-compensated executives with planning for stock options, sophisticated life insurance arrangements, and other compensation benefits
* Representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service at all levels, including audits and Tax Court and district court litigation

Board Certified Attorney, Wills, Trusts & Estates - Florida Bar

Douglas Bradford Kniskern
Arnstein & Lehr LLP
200 E Las Olas Blvd #1700
Fort Lauderdale FL 33301-2299
Tel: 954 713-7625
Fax: 954 713-7725
E-mail: dkniskern@arnstein.com

Practice: Estate Planning

Mr. Kniskern is a Partner in the Firm’s Fort Lauderdale office. He has been practicing law in South Florida for over thirty-four years, specializing in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, estate and trust controversies, estate and trust taxation, wealth preservation and business succession planning. He is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts and Estates. Mr. Kniskern has been chosen by his peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America every year since 1995, and has been listed as a Florida Super Lawyer by the publishers of Law & Politics Magazine every year since 2006.