For more than 35 years we have focused exclusively on the law of estates and trusts and of fiduciary relationships. Within this practice niche, we handle it all:
Estate and Closely Held Business Planning. We prepare wills, various types of trusts, powers of attorney, health care directives, and other estate planning documents. The documents can be simple or complex depending on specific family concerns and/or for tax planning. We also represent clients with family businesses in entity selection/creation and succession planning. We discuss with our clients various options and ways of achieving their goals, then tailor documents consistent with their objectives.
Estate and Trust Litigation. We are not a general litigation firm. We focus on will, trust, and other fiduciary litigation. This litigation includes disputes on the meaning of estate planning documents, arguments involving estate or trust administration, challenges based on lack of capacity or undue influence, and breaches of fiduciary duty within closely held businesses.
Estate and Trust Administration. We help clients with the process of winding up a decedent’s financial affairs by implementing the individual’s estate plan or in accordance with state law if the person has no valid planning documents. We prepare all estate and income tax returns in-house so we can offer seamless administration services from beginning to end.
Our Firm Culture and Why It Is Important to Clients
There are four defining attributes imbedded in the DNA of our firm: (1) We are an estates and trusts firm. The law of estates and trusts is largely a world unto itself with its own rules and practices. It requires a concentrated focus. (2) We keep a broad perspective while practicing in this defined practice space. We “do it all” within that niche – estate and business planning, estate/trust administration, and fiduciary litigation. This creates a balance of a broad practice experience with a deep understanding of the law of a relatively specialized niche. (3) We work as a team. We do not just give lip-service to intra-firm collaboration, we follow a business model to achieve it and make it a habit. Clients are clients of the whole firm – not just of one lawyer in the firm. (4) Our culture fosters a deep understanding of our practice focus.
The practice of law, like medicine, engineering, and other professions, is a learned profession. Our lawyers regularly write and teach courses for lawyers and judges. These activities keep the firm at the forefront of legal developments.
The firm consists of four partners: Fred Franke, Jack Beckett, Deb Howe, and Jon Lasley; and two associates, Hannah Coffin and Regan Caton. Both Fred and Jon are Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and both are past chairs of the Estate and Trust Section Council of the Maryland State Bar Association. All partners have written articles for law reviews or other legal publications and they routinely present continuing education courses on estates/trusts topics. These activities give back to the profession and deepen and extend the firm’s collective understanding of the law of estates and trusts.
We serve clients located various distances from our physical office in Annapolis: from the Eastern Shore, the Southern counties, and those counties surrounding Baltimore and Washington. The remote service options that we developed in response to the pandemic will provide our more distant clients added ease and convenience.
For more information about our firm and how we approach representing our clients, visit our website at fredfranke.com.
The Law of Estates and Trusts Planning • Administration • Litigation 151 West Street, Suite 301 Annapolis, MD 21401 410-263-4876 fredfranke.com
