Wilson Tax Law Group regularly represents estates, beneficiaries, executors, fiduciaries, transferees, and others during estate and gift audits and appeals. Our primary focus is resolving these disputes early and effectively, without engaging in litigation in all federal courts, but our estate tax related experience includes valuation issues and estate transfer issues in Tax Court, U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit. Our firm is prepared to handle audits involving complex ownership, control, and valuation issues resulting from the use of partnerships (e.g., FLIPs), trusts, and offshore entities. Generally, individuals are entitled to aggressive asset protection and estate preservation, but the IRS can sometimes overreact to the use of entities that are within the law. In those cases, Wilson Tax Law group provides competent representation that can ensure that the estate pays no more tax than required.
Wilson Tax Law Group can assist and advise CPAs, trustees and beneficiaries regarding filing protective refund claims and litigating issues involving the statute of limitations for claiming an estate tax refund, which is an area of potential dispute with the IRS. A protective refund claim is a claim filed to protect the taxpayer's right to a potential refund based on a contingent event for a taxable period for which the period of limitations is about to expire. This is very common in the estate context. Common examples of contingencies are pending litigation and continuing tax examinations that can change the amount or the tax characterization of an item after the limitations period for filing a refund claim concerning that item expires. A protective claim generally must follow certain guidelines for all claims for credits or refunds to be treated as valid. In certain situations, an informal claim can serve as a protective claim, but it must meet certain standards to qualify. An initial protective claim generally is perfected by filing a subsequent claim for refund upon the occurrence of the contingency. If you have questions regarding filing protective claims to preserve an estate tax refund, or have a dispute involving these types of issues, Wilson Tax Law Group is well-versed in this area of law and can be of assistance.
Wilson Tax Law Group also routinely provides legal guidance and advice to CPA’s and other professionals who practice in the area of wills, estates, trusts, and gifts and who prepare Forms 706, 709, and 1041.