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Protecting Families & Enhancing Wealth

With over 16 years experience in Wealth Planning, Protection and Management, Gregory Herman-Giddens, JD, LLM, CFP and his fellow attorneys at TrustCounsel have the knowledge and experience to help you develop an estate plan carefully designed to protect your family, preserve your assets, and save taxes.

ESTATE PLANNING ALERT: As of January 1, 2010, there is no more federal estate tax. The estate tax has been replaced with a complex modified carryover basis regime. In 2011, the estate tax is scheduled to return, with a $1,000,000 exemption and 55% rate (plus an additional 16% for North Carolina residents). Due to these changing laws, it is imperative that everyone with an estate of $1 million or more do proper planning to ensure that income and estate taxes will be minimized. Be aware that the face value of life insurance is included in calculating one's estate, so even many young couples have estates in excess of $1 million. Do not let your family pay tax unnecessarily. Call or email us today to schedule your appointment.

To contact us, please call (800) 201-0413 or email us at info@trustcounselpa.com. Local office numbers are provided below.

Elected to the "Legal Elite" in Tax and Estate Planning (2007) and as a "Super Lawyer" in Estate Planning (2007) and Probate law by other North Carolina attorneys, Mr. Herman-Giddens is the only attorney in North Carolina who has a Master of Laws in Estate Planning degree, and is both a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and a Certified Financial Planner(TM). He was also named as a 2008 Triangle Impact Financial Leader by Triangle Business Leader magazine. Greg Herman-Giddens is currently serving as President of the Orange County Bar Association.

TrustCounsel is the publisher of the nationally recognized and syndicated North Carolina Estate Planning Blog, the only North Carolina specific web log on estate planning, asset preservation, probate and taxes.

Our main office is in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (919-493-6351), in the heart of the Research Triangle Park area. We also have an office in Pittsboro, NC (919-642-0115), serving residents of Chatham, Lee, Randolph and Moore Counties. We serve clients throughout the United States, affiliating with local counsel when advisable to ensure the best possible representation. Mr. Herman-Giddens is licensed to practice law in North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.

We offer comprehensive estate plans at fixed prices based on factors such as the complexity of the plan. We also have fixed prices for business formation services, and percentage fee arrangements are available for estate and trust administration. Other matters are generally handled on an hourly fee basis. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.

We invite you to subscribe to our monthly email newsletter, which contains important news and features relating to estate planning, tax and finances, as well as firm announcements. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Greg Herman-Giddens On the Radio

Track 1. All about converting standard IRAs in to Roth IRAs, which can be done within certain limitations. Also, how to take advantage of market volatility when converting an IRA, and
the importance of having a tax professional oversee the whole process.

Track 2. Strategies for appropriate investments, and the best ways to protect funds through losses and mismanagement. Also, the importance of properly setting up IRA beneficiary designations to maximize the benefits of IRA trusts.

Track 3. For estate and investment planning, you want to make sure your IRA tax deferral is stretched out as long as possible. One way to ensure that happens is to take only the required minimum distribution if possible.