Cheryl N. Smith

Cheryl’s practice focuses on the many different aspects of estate planning, including wealth preservation for multigenerational families, taxation, probate administration, closely held business planning and elder law. She is experienced in implementing a full range of estate planning structures from the essential core documents, such as wills, health care proxies and durable powers of attorney, to complex documents for affluent individuals, families and small business owners, including various types of revocable and irrevocable trusts, buy/sell agreements, family limited liability company documents, prenuptial agreements and private foundations. She frequently assists families with sophisticated estate planning techniques to minimize the impact of estate, gift and generation skipping taxes, such as installment sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, structured gifting plans, qualified personal residence trusts, dynasty trusts, charitable trusts, business succession plans and life insurance planning. As part of her estate and probate administration practice, Cheryl has represented fiduciaries in the administration of substantial estates, including the preparation of estate tax returns for estates with complex valuation and estate tax issues.

Cheryl has also represented elderly and disabled clients and their families in guardianship matters, in implementing supplemental needs trusts and special needs trusts, in maximizing the availability of benefits such as Medicaid while preserving family assets, in the preparation and filing of Medicaid applications, and has successfully appealed denied Medicaid applications before the Medicaid Board of Hearings.

As an adoptive mother, Cheryl is particularly in tune with the unique estate planning needs of diverse and non-traditional families, including families with adopted children, foster children, step-children and families built through Assisted Reproductive Technologies.