Caroline C. Munroe

Counsel

Caroline is an experienced estate planner who has been recognized by her peers as one of the top estate planning lawyers in Georgia. She has represented clients with respect to their estate planning needs, including estate and gift tax planning, charitable planning and estate administration.

Areas of Focus

Wills and Trusts
Estate planning
Charitable planning
Business succession planning
Collaborative Law trained

Premarital agreements
Estate administration (probate)
Trust administration
Trust modifications and terminations

Experience
Practice Highlights
Professional & Civic Activities

Prior to joining Blanco Tackabery, Caroline focused her practice on trusts and estates in metropolitan Atlanta. In addition to drafting estate plans, Caroline served as Guardian ad Litem in trust modification and termination cases, assisted clients with Georgia estate administrations, and assisted clients with Georgia guardianships and conservatorships. She is pleased to continue her Georgia law practice and in Winston-Salem at Blanco Tackabery, concentrating in the areas of estate planning and probate. She advises clients regarding the preparation of simple Wills, Revocable Trusts and Powers of Attorney, as well as more complex tax planning trusts and other documents to address their family and wealth transfer goals. Caroline also assists clients with trust modifications and terminations and serves as a Guardian ad Litem for the unknown, unborn, and non-sui juris beneficiaries.

Often families feel overwhelmed with the tasks that must be faced after the loss of a loved one. Caroline is committed to assisting clients with the probate and estate administration process with dignity, respect and professionalism. This includes advising fiduciaries on their duties and powers, preparing court inventories and accountings, counsel regarding federal estate tax returns, and advice regarding funding of trusts.

Worked with several families to prepare and implement estate plans with trusts and safeguards for spendthrift child to protect against alcohol and drug abuse;
Developed and implemented an estate plan for a dual citizen client to own and devise foreign-sitused property;
Successfully negotiated a settlement between a second spouse and children from the first marriage where the second spouse was omitted from the estate plan;
Assisted clients with the establishment of a Beneficiary Defective Inheritor’s Trust (“BDIT”) that allows client to shift appreciation in his closely-held businesses to his children, virtually estate and gift tax free, while maintaining access to the assets and income stream;
Successfully obtained 501(c)(3) status for multiple private foundations and public charities and advised organizations regarding policies and best practices going forward;
Advised clients in obtaining judicial approval to modify and terminate a testamentary irrevocable trust by funding separate limited liability companies for the beneficiaries and minimizing future family disputes and friction over the use of the proceeds from the 1033 condemnation of a shopping center owned by the trust;
Assisted client to help elderly relative challenge charity’s control of a Revocable Trust and exploitation of the elderly woman’s estate plan;
Prepared financial powers of attorney and health care directives for clients’ adult children studying abroad