Williams Parker Enhances Fiduciary Services Capabilities

The law firm of Williams Parker is pleased to announce it has enhanced its ability to provide fiduciary services. The firm recently added Aubrey J. Lynch, a CPA, formerly a principal with CS&L CPAs, to its team as the Director of Fiduciary Tax Matters. Ms. Lynch joins Susan S. Park, the firm’s Director of Fiduciary Administration, to oversee the firm’s fiduciary services and provide support to the firm’s trusts and estates practice.

The firm’s objective is to support its clients’ needs, including clients who are serving as a fiduciary and may need assistance, and the firm’s partners who are asked to serve in the role of fiduciary on behalf of clients who do not intend to engage a corporate fiduciary. The firm will not be soliciting any new types of tax preparation work (e.g., preparing Forms 1040, 1065, 1120S, etc.) or providing any investment advisory services, other than to provide referrals to qualified organizations.

The firm’s fiduciary services department provides legal guidance, accounting and tax services, and estate and trust administrative services. The legal services provided in this area include reforming trusts, advising fiduciaries as to ongoing responsibilities during administration, preparing plans of distribution and corresponding release documents, and preparing and sending notice letters (Crummey) for certain trusts. The tax and accounting-related services provided include preparing, filing, and reviewing estate, gift, and certain fiduciary income tax returns; analyzing generation-skipping transfer-tax status of trusts; and preparing periodic and final accountings for estates and trusts. The fiduciary administration services include taking custody of certain assets, arranging for security and insurance of assets, arranging for sale or other disposition of assets, overseeing the selection of investment managers and placement of financial assets, and assisting with referrals to accounting firms for ongoing tax compliance needs.

Ms. Lynch oversees tax and accounting matters as they relate to the firm’s fiduciary services, facilitating fulfillment of trustee’s duties and responsibilities in coordination with legal counsel. Aubrey prepares, files, and reviews federal estate tax returns (Form 706), federal gift tax returns (Form 709), and fiduciary income tax returns (Form 1041); provides tax analysis and advice on income, estate, and gift tax matters during period of administration; and prepares periodic and final accountings and plans of distribution. She obtained an M.Acc and B.S.Acc. from the University of Florida.

Ms. Park oversees the probate administration process, which includes providing support to the firm’s trusts and estates practice and managing the firm’s probate paralegals and trust administration process. She previously worked with U.S. Trust, where she managed estate settlement for the South Florida region, and with Northern Trust and Bank of America N.A. She obtained an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Alabama, a J.D. from the Florida State University College of Law, and a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy. Additionally, she is a certified financial planner (CFP®), which affords her additional insight to assist with fiduciary administration.