Trusts and Estates Attorney

Job Overview

A law firm seeks a seasoned Trusts and Estates Attorney for its Raleigh, NC office to counsel high-net-worth individuals, families, corporate fiduciaries, and private companies on sophisticated wealth-preservation, estate-planning, and business succession matters. The ideal candidate will possess advanced technical planning skills and a strong client-service orientation, with the ability to collaborate across multiple disciplines within the firm.

Duties

• Lead complex estate plans for high-net-worth individuals and families, including wills and various trusts.
• Advise on estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax strategies in coordination with tax professionals.
• Plan and facilitate business succession and family-company transfers, including valuation and ownership transition.
• Prepare advanced wealth-protection strategies, including asset protection and trust-shielding.
• Provide ongoing trust and estate administration services, including probate and fiduciary tax returns.
• Represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate litigation when necessary.
• Maintain client relationships through high-touch service and strategic advisory roles.
• Collaborate internally across tax, business, real estate, elder-law, and litigation teams.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor and admission to North Carolina Bar or eligibility for waiver.
• 5-12+ years of substantial experience in estate planning and wealth preservation.
• Demonstrated ability in drafting and negotiating complex estate and trust documents.
• Strong understanding of tax, business entities, asset protection, and charitable planning.
• Experience advising business owners and corporate fiduciaries on succession and governance strategies.
• Excellent client-service orientation and communication skills.
• Capacity to manage complex, long-term relationships and coordinate with specialists.
• Interest in growing the Trusts and Estates practice in the Raleigh market.

Education

• Juris Doctor

Certifications

• Admission to North Carolina Bar
• Specialization in estate planning/probate preferred

Skills

• Advanced technical planning skills
• Strong client-service orientation
• Ability to collaborate across disciplines

Benefits

• Opportunity to lead high-value estate and wealth-preservation matters.
• Access to a full-service platform supporting interdisciplinary work.
• Varied and meaningful work with strong growth potential.
• Ability to operate in a growing metro area with an expanding client base.

With five law offices based across North Carolina, the firm has more than one-hundred years of industry experience. A fairly large team of accomplished attorneys make up their law practice. Areas of practice are comprehensive. Some of their practice disciplines are agribusiness, business, creditors' rights, family law, litigation and personal injury-wrongful death. Community outreach is supported at the firm. Attorneys are proactive in a myriad of community service organizations during the year.