Christine H. DeMarea

Trust, Estate and Fiduciary Litigation

• Successfully represented national public charity in eliminating a $3.2 million tax assessment.

Wealth, Tax Trust and Estate Planning and Administration

• Counseled several individuals and corporate clients on estate planning and trust issues, including high-value and complex planning matters.
• Worked extensively with family-owned businesses, family farms and tax-exempt organizations, assisting in administrative, legal, tax and compliance matters.
• Designed and drafted trust and estate planning documents, including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, financial and medical durable powers of attorney, living wills, healthcare declarations, life insurance trusts, gift trusts, family trusts, dynasty trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, generation-skipping transfer (GST) trusts and asset protection trusts.

Estate and Trust Administration/Probate

• Counseled professional and nonprofessional administrators of trusts and estates on fiduciary duties.
• Assisted with probate and trust administration, fiduciary income tax returns and accountings.
• Successfully defended an estate against million-dollar claim filed out of time.

Business/Corporate Planning

• Analyzed current structures of business and provided recommendations to protect assets.
• Formed entities including limited liability companies, family limited partnerships and corporations.
• Developed and structured exit strategies that maximized clients' goals and objectives.
• Helped clients devise effective and practical business succession plans.
• Prepared buy-sell agreements, family business plans, purchase and sale agreements, asset purchase agreements, stock purchase agreements, promissory notes and leveraged buyout plans.

Asset Protection Planning

• Advised clients on strategies for protecting assets from loss, risk and exposure, both during life and after death.

Probate and Trust Litigation

• Represented clients in probate actions on such matters as will and estate contests, breach of fiduciary duty, trust accountings, spousal claims, beneficiary rights, creditor claims, undue influence and business owner disputes.