Royalty Payments, Family Limited Partnerships (FLP'S) and Tax Strategies

We are assiting landowners in wealth management by establishing Family Limited Partnerships (FLP's) Limited Liability Company (LLC's), Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts, and wills. We are working with landowners in areas of Estate Planning, Inheritance tax reduction, and other methods seeking to minimize royalty payment tax consequences.

Several of our clients and many landowners are currently scheduled for Marcellus Shale gas wells on their property, or are included in a future or current production unit. These landowners anticipate significant royalty payments for many years into the future.

To assist landowners in managing the highly complicated area of Taxes and Inheritance, we have created a sophisticated and experienced network of attorneys that focus their practice in Federal and State Tax, Estate Planning, Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies (LLC's), Estate Administration and Wealth Management.

We offer a variety of family and estate planning techniques to help individuals and families maximize tax benefits and preserve their wealth. These powerful estate planning vehicles include the creation of a Family Limited Partnerships (FLP), Limited Liability Company (LLC), Revocable Trusts, Living Trusts, Irrevocable Trusts, Special Needs Trusts, and Wills.

We recognize that individuals and families are now facing the welcomed, but daunting task passing significant royalty profits from one generation to the next while minimizing substantial Federal Estate Taxes, Income Tax and Pennsylvania Inheritance Taxes. Without a carefully crafted and well designed wealth management plan, much of the wealth gained through bonus and royalty payments may be lost to government taxes, divorce, and even creditors.

Timing is critical. Proactive and effective estate planning is essential to reduce a landowners’ and their family’s exposure to these costly taxes and other pitfalls.

A Simple Will stating “I leave everything to my spouse and if my spouse is not living, then I leave everything to my children” is insufficient to take full advantage of powerful IRS tax credits available families with wealth or those acquiring significant wealth through royalty and/or bonus payments.

We will guide landowners through this complex area of estate planning and wealth management and tailor a strategy to preserve wealth for the present and future generations.

• To maximize taxation benefits through the estate planning vehicles described above, landowners will need to consider a subsurface valuation of their mineral rights preferably prior to the commencement of drilling operations on their property or in their pooling unit.
• To maximize wealth management benefits, landowners should act prior to exposure to potentially significant royalty wealth.
• Although planning for the future is the goal, our team is also available to address immediate issues by preparing and providing vehicles such as a Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will and Health Care Directives.

Contact us today to begin the process of building and sustaining wealth.