A few examples of Clayton’s experience in directly and personally representing his clients include the following:
- Prepared and implemented a comprehensive estate plan to minimize estate taxes for a closely-held business owner with assets exceeding $100,000,000, with the use of various irrevocable trusts and entities—including intentionally defective grantor trusts, generation-skipping transfer gifting trusts, and charitable trusts
- Implemented a comprehensive estate plan for a C-Suite level Fortune 500 executive, using a variety of strategies, including spousal lifetime access trusts (“SLAT trusts”)
- Developed an estate plan for a middle-aged couple with modest assets, but whose main concern was to ensure the care and well-being of their adopted minor children—one of whom is significantly physically disabled, including the use of a Supplemental Needs Trust
- Developed a comprehensive “estate freeze” plan for a client involving the use of a family limited partnership and “rolling” GRATs (grantor retained annuity trusts) that is estimated will save very significant future federal and state estate taxes
- Prepared an integrated “targeted estate plan” for a middle-aged couple with substantial assets in qualified retirement accounts, where probate avoidance and asset protection for adult children were the primary objectives
- Developed a complex estate plan for the senior executive of a Fortune 500 corporation with significant international financial and family interests
- Prepared a comprehensive core estate plan with a revocable trust for an elderly client, whose main concern was disability planning
- Formulated an extensive estate and business succession plan for the owner of a large family agricultural and farm business to pass the business onto the next generation, with the coordinated implementation of trusts, a special board of trustees to manage the succession of the business, and life insurance planning with irrevocable life insurance trusts (“ILITs”)
- Developed and implemented comprehensive estate plan to minimize estate taxes for a client with substantial international closely-held business and interests, with the use of irrevocable trusts and corporate entities, and working in coordination with foreign legal counsel
- Worked with the owners of a large closely-held business in a multi-generational family context, in preparing a comprehensive business succession plan involving the use of generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax planning and various trust structures
- Established a testamentary Charitable Lead Trust (“T-CLAT”) for an estate subject to federal estate taxes, to “zero out” estate taxes.
- Developed a business succession plan for a large farm business owner, to pass the family farm to the children, with the use of a family limited partnership (“FLP”), limited liability company (“LLC”), and irrevocable trusts for children.
- Represented client as special counsel in a complex trust and probate court matter involving disputes among beneficiaries
- Obtained court approval on behalf of client to modify and reform terms of an irrevocable trust relating to S corporation eligibility status
- Represented large tax-exempt charitable organization to obtain approval of trustee accounts in a complex court matter
- Settled a dispute among siblings and their surviving parent, regarding a large estate and various trusts established by the deceased parent
- Implemented a complex plan for US clients with various and multiple Asian and US real property and business holdings, in coordinating planning with Asian legal counsel