Legal Services
D.C. Trusts & Estates
Carrizo Global Law assists individuals, families, and business owners with estate planning, trust planning, incapacity planning, and succession matters governed by District of Columbia law.
Our work focuses on helping clients organize how property and decision-making authority will be managed during life, during periods of incapacity, and after death.
For clients with business interests, federal tax considerations, or internationally connected families and assets, we also evaluate whether those issues should be coordinated as part of the broader legal strategy.
How We Approach D.C. Estate Planning
Estate planning is not simply the preparation of a will or trust. An effective plan should reflect the client's family circumstances, property, ownership interests, decision-making preferences, succession objectives, and the law governing the plan.
We begin by understanding what the client owns, who should benefit, who should have authority during incapacity, and how the client wants property and responsibilities managed over time.
Depending on the matter, our analysis may consider:
Family and beneficiary relationships
Ownership and titling of assets
Existing wills, trusts, and beneficiary designations
Incapacity and decision-making arrangements
Minor children or other dependents
Business ownership and succession
Probate and non-probate assets
Federal tax considerations where relevant
International or multi-jurisdictional assets and family relationships
Whether another jurisdiction’s law is implicated and whether coordination with qualified counsel in that jurisdiction may be appropriate
The objective is a coordinated estate plan built around the client's actual circumstances rather than a collection of generic documents.
D.C. Trusts & Estates Matters We Handle
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Carrizo Global Law assists individuals and families with District of Columbia estate planning, including preparation and review of wills and coordination of documents addressing property disposition, fiduciary appointments, family considerations, and related planning objectives.
Representative matters may include:
Last wills and testaments
Selection and nomination of personal representatives
Distribution of property among beneficiaries
Specific gifts and residuary distributions
Planning for minor children and other dependents
Guardian nominations for minor children where appropriate
Coordination with existing trusts
Review and modernization of existing estate-planning documents
Planning involving business or ownership interests
Coordination of probate and non-probate assets, including beneficiary-designated assets where relevant
A will should be coordinated with the client’s broader estate plan. Ownership and titling of assets, beneficiary designations, trusts, business interests, family circumstances, and incapacity-planning documents may affect whether the overall plan operates as intended.
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Carrizo Global Law advises clients regarding whether and how a revocable living trust may fit within a District of Columbia estate plan based on the client’s objectives, assets, family circumstances, incapacity planning needs, and anticipated administration.
Representative matters may include:
Creation of revocable living trusts
Selection of initial and successor trustees
Lifetime management of trust property
Successor-trustee authority and planning for incapacity
Distribution of trust property following death
Trust provisions for children, dependents, and other beneficiaries
Coordination between trusts, wills, and other estate-planning documents
Trust funding, asset titling, and ownership considerations
Amendment or restatement of existing revocable trusts
Coordination with business ownership and succession planning
Creating the trust document is only one part of the planning process. A revocable living trust should be properly coordinated with asset ownership, beneficiary designations, wills, powers of attorney, business interests, and the client’s broader estate plan. Assets that are not appropriately transferred to or coordinated with the trust may not be governed by the trust as intended.
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Carrizo Global Law assists clients with District of Columbia advance health care planning so that medical decision-making authority and treatment preferences are documented before the client becomes unable to make or communicate health-care decisions personally.
Representative matters may include:
Durable powers of attorney for health care
Selection of health-care attorneys-in-fact and successor decision-makers
Instructions concerning medical treatment and health-care preferences
Declarations concerning life-sustaining procedures
Incapacity-related health-care planning
Review and updating of existing advance health-care documents
Coordination with financial powers of attorney, wills, trusts, and other estate-planning documents
Consideration of special instructions or limitations on the health-care decision-maker’s authority
Advance health care planning allows clients to identify who should make medical decisions if they cannot act for themselves and to document treatment preferences before a medical crisis creates uncertainty for family members and health-care providers.
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A financial power of attorney allows a principal to authorize a trusted agent to manage specified financial, property, business, tax, and other non-health-care matters during the principal’s lifetime. The scope and timing of that authority should be tailored to the principal’s objectives and circumstances.
Representative matters may include:
Durable financial powers of attorney
Selection of agents, co-agents, and successor agents
Scope, limitations, and timing of delegated authority
Banking, financial-account, and property-management authority
Real-property and personal-property matters
Business and ownership-related authority where appropriate
Tax, governmental, and administrative matters
Incapacity and continuity planning
Review, amendment, revocation, or replacement of existing powers of attorney
Coordination with wills, trusts, beneficiary arrangements, and other estate-planning documents
Specific authority involving trusts, gifts, beneficiary designations, or similar matters where appropriate and expressly authorized
The authority granted under a financial power of attorney should be carefully tailored to the client’s objectives, family and financial circumstances, existing estate plan, and applicable District of Columbia law. Certain significant powers require an express grant of authority and should not be assumed from general language.
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Business ownership can create District of Columbia estate-planning considerations involving the transfer, management, continuity, and disposition of ownership interests following an owner’s death or incapacity. Those personal planning objectives should be coordinated with the governing documents and transfer restrictions applicable to the business.
Representative matters may include:
Business-owner succession planning
Coordination of ownership interests with wills and trusts
Planning for transfer of membership interests, shares, or other ownership interests
Death and incapacity planning affecting business ownership
Coordination with buy-sell, redemption, and transfer-restriction provisions
Management and governance continuity considerations
Family-business succession planning
Coordination with operating agreements, shareholder agreements, or other governing documents
Alignment between personal estate-planning objectives and corporate governance arrangements
Coordination with the firm’s Business & Corporate Law practice where ownership, governance, or transactional changes are required
Business succession is most effective when the owner’s personal estate plan and the company’s governing documents operate consistently. A will or trust generally should not be analyzed in isolation from contractual transfer restrictions, buy-sell provisions, governance arrangements, or the law governing the business entity.
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Families increasingly maintain property, citizenship or residency ties, beneficiaries, business interests, or other legal relationships in more than one country. Those connections can affect how a District of Columbia estate plan should be structured and coordinated.
Representative matters may include:
District of Columbia estate planning for internationally connected clients
Clients or family members with U.S. and foreign citizenship, domicile, or residency connections
Beneficiaries residing outside the United States
Foreign or internationally located assets
Business or ownership interests involving multiple jurisdictions
Immigration or residency considerations relevant to estate planning
Federal tax considerations arising from international ownership, transfers, or family relationships
Coordination of D.C. wills, trusts, beneficiary arrangements, and asset ownership with foreign legal arrangements
Identification of potential conflicts of law, governing-law, situs, or jurisdictional issues
Coordination with appropriately qualified foreign or U.S. local counsel when another jurisdiction’s law must be analyzed
Carrizo Global Law does not assume that a District of Columbia estate plan resolves legal issues governed by another jurisdiction. Cross-border matters are evaluated to identify which issues are governed by District of Columbia law, which may implicate federal law, and which require advice from appropriately qualified counsel in another U.S. or foreign jurisdiction.
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Estate-planning documents do not control every asset in the same manner. Asset ownership, titling, beneficiary designations, survivorship rights, trust ownership, and other nonprobate arrangements may determine how property is transferred during life or at death.
Carrizo Global Law helps clients review how those arrangements interact with the client’s District of Columbia estate plan.
Representative matters may include:
Review of asset ownership and titling
Coordination of beneficiary designations with estate-planning objectives
Jointly owned property and survivorship arrangements
Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death arrangements
Retirement accounts, life insurance, and other beneficiary-designated assets
Trust-owned or trust-designated property
Business ownership interests
Identification and coordination of probate and nonprobate assets
Coordination with financial institutions, retirement-plan administrators, insurers, business advisers, tax professionals, or other relevant professionals where appropriate
A well-drafted will or trust may not operate as intended if asset ownership, beneficiary designations, survivorship rights, or other transfer mechanisms direct property differently. Coordinating those arrangements is therefore an important part of developing and maintaining an effective estate plan.
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Different family, ownership, incapacity, and succession circumstances may require trust planning beyond a basic revocable living trust.
Carrizo Global Law advises clients regarding trust structures, provisions, administration-related planning, and review of existing trusts within the firm’s District of Columbia Trusts & Estates practice.
Representative matters may include:
Trust planning for children, dependents, and other beneficiaries
Continuing trusts for children or other family members
Trustee selection, successor-trustee planning, and vacancy considerations
Distribution standards and trustee discretion
Trust provisions addressing incapacity or long-term management
Review, amendment, restatement, or modification of existing trusts where appropriate
Coordination of trusts with wills, beneficiary arrangements, and asset ownership
Trust considerations involving business ownership interests
Identification of matters requiring specialized federal tax advice, another jurisdiction’s counsel, or other professional coordination
The appropriate trust structure depends on the purpose of the trust, the property involved, the intended beneficiaries, trustee powers and succession, applicable District of Columbia law, and the client’s broader estate-planning objectives. Some trust modifications or terminations may require beneficiary consent, court approval, or satisfaction of other statutory requirements.
These categories are representative and are not an exhaustive description of the firm's Trusts & Estates practice. Carrizo Global Law's Trusts & Estates practice is currently focused on matters governed by District of Columbia law. The availability and scope of representation depend on the client's circumstances, applicable law, jurisdiction, and the nature of the planning involved.
District of Columbia Trusts & Estates Practice
Carrizo Global Law's Trusts & Estates practice is currently focused on estate-planning and trust matters governed by District of Columbia law.
Estate-planning rules vary by jurisdiction. The validity and operation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, property arrangements, and other planning documents may depend on the law applicable to the client, the property, or the instrument involved.
When a matter implicates the law of another state or country, Carrizo Global Law evaluates whether that issue can be addressed within the firm's authorized scope or whether coordination with qualified local counsel is appropriate.
A client's residence outside the District does not necessarily determine every legal issue, but jurisdiction must be evaluated before the scope of representation is established.
When Estate Planning Intersects With Other Legal Matters
Estate planning can intersect with business ownership, federal taxation, immigration status, and cross-border family or property interests.
A business owner may need corporate governance and succession documents to work together. An internationally connected family may own property or have beneficiaries in more than one jurisdiction. Changes in ownership or residency may also create federal tax considerations.
When those issues materially intersect, Carrizo Global Law identifies the relevant legal relationships and determines whether coordinated analysis across practice areas is appropriate.
Where another state's law, foreign law, or specialized tax advice is required, the matter may require coordination with appropriately qualified counsel or other professionals.
Discuss Your Estate Planning Needs
Estate planning is highly personal, and the appropriate documents and structure depend on the client's family, assets, ownership interests, objectives, and applicable law.
Request a consultation with Carrizo Global Law to discuss your planning objectives and determine the appropriate next step.