Area of Practice

Estate Planning & Controversies

FBFK’s Estate Planning & Controversies practice provides comprehensive strategies to preserve wealth, minimize taxes, and ensure seamless transfer of assets across generations. We advise individuals, families, and business owners on wills, trusts, succession planning, and international estate structures, while also representing clients in trust and probate disputes, fiduciary litigation, and tax controversies. Our approach integrates planning and protection to safeguard both legacy and intent.

Our Approach

We help business owners transition ownership with clarity and continuity, aligning succession strategies with tax efficiency and long-term business goals.

Who We Serve

  • Closely held business owners
  • Family businesses
  • Founders planning exit or transition
  • Family offices

We Advise Clients On

  • Transition planning for closely held enterprises
  • Buy-sell agreements, recapitalizations, and voting/control structures
  • Single- and multi-family office planning
  • Business liquidity event planning (pre-IPO, M&A, secondary sales)

Our Approach

We advise globally mobile clients on structuring wealth across jurisdictions, balancing tax efficiency, compliance, and long-term family objectives.

Who We Serve

  • International families
  • Cross-border business owners
  • Global investors
  • Clients relocating to or from the U.S.

We Advise Clients On

  • Inbound and outbound planning for globally mobile families
  • Coordination of U.S. and non-U.S. trusts and holding structures
  • Treaty, residency, and domicile analysis; pre-immigration planning
  • Multijurisdictional probate, administration, and compliance
  • Treaty competent authority processes

Our Approach

We design thoughtful, customized estate plans that protect assets, minimize taxes, and ensure your intentions are carried out across generations.

Who We Serve

  • High-net-worth individuals and families
  • Business owners
  • Executives and professionals
  • Multigenerational families

We Advise Clients On

  • Wills, trusts, and ancillary documents
  • Advanced estate, gift, and GST tax planning
  • Domestic and international trust planning
  • Ultra-high- and high-net-worth estate planning
  • Multigenerational planning
  • Wealth preservation planning
  • Marital property agreements

Our Approach

We help clients achieve meaningful impact through structured, tax-efficient charitable giving aligned with their long-term vision.

Who We Serve

  • High- and Ultra-High-net-worth individuals
  • Family offices
  • Philanthropic foundations
  • Charitable donors

We Advise Clients On

  • Private foundation governance and compliance
  • Charitable split-interest vehicles (CRTs, CLTs)
  • Donor-advised funds

Our Approach

We integrate tax planning with dispute readiness, ensuring wealth structures are both optimized and defensible across all tax regimes.

Who We Serve

  • High- and Ultra-High-net-worth individuals
  • Family offices
  • Fiduciaries and trustees
  • Clients facing tax audits or disputes

We Advise Clients On

  • Estate, gift, GST, and income taxation
  • Defined value transfers, formula clauses, and freeze techniques
  • IRS examinations and appeals
  • IRS Chief Counsel National Office rulings and practice
  • State and local tax coordination; California-Texas mobility planning

Our Approach

We resolve complex disputes with a strategic and measured approach, balancing strong advocacy with sensitivity to family dynamics and long-term relationships.

Who We Serve

  • Beneficiaries and heirs
  • Trustees and fiduciaries
  • Family members in contested matters
  • Business owners in family disputes

We Advise Clients On

  • Trust, estate, and fiduciary litigation (state and federal)
  • Will and Trust contests, construction/reformation, and surcharge actions
  • Business-family conflicts involving closely held ownership
  • Guardianship litigation
  • Estate and gift tax controversies, audits, and U.S. Tax Court matters

Our Approach

We guide clients through administration with efficiency and care, helping fiduciaries navigate responsibilities while ensuring compliance and clarity.

Who We Serve

  • Executors and trustees
  • Beneficiaries
  • Families managing estates
  • Fiduciaries across jurisdictions

We Advise Clients On

  • Estate and trust administrations (Texas and California courts)
  • Fiduciary accounting, distributions, and regulatory compliance
  • Ancillary probate and multi-state estates
  • Post-mortem tax elections
  • Guidance for executors, trustees, and beneficiaries

Our Attorneys

Location

Clear Selection

Capabilities

Clear Selection
Chair, Tax, Trusts and Estates Section
Attorney
Managing Shareholder
Partner
Managing Partner
Attorney
Shareholder
Partner
Shareholder
FBFK Law attorney Blaine J. Burch discusses family business succession planning during a podcast on strategies for preserving family businesses and planning for future ownership.
Blaine Burch Discusses Family Business Succession Planning on Keep, Sell, or Succeed the Family Business
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Holly Gilani and Barry Resnick featured in Daily Journal discussing governance tools for the modern family enterprise.
Daily Journal Features Barry Resnick and Holly Gilani on Governance for the Modern Family Enterprise (Part Two)
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FBFK Law partner Holly Gilani featured in Law360 Tax Authority discussing how business litigation is reshaping trust and estate disputes.
Bloomberg Tax Features Holly Gilani on the Rise of Business Litigation in Trust and Estate Disputes
Read More