Overview

Gina works closely with clients to meet their specific estate planning needs, guiding them through all areas of estate and gift tax planning, avoidance and minimization of probate as well as succession planning for business owners.
 
With over 20 years of experience, Gina deftly assists in implementing a wide range of techniques from simple wills and trusts to more sophisticated plans. She has extensive experience preparing plans that include spousal lifetime access trusts, qualified residence trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts and more.
 
Clients rely on Gina to navigate them through probate and trust administration as both counsel and fiduciary. She also works closely with clients’ corporate counsel to ensure that the estate plan and the succession plan for the business are in synch to provide for a smooth transition for business owners and executives. Gina also services as a fiduciary in estate and guardianship cases as a court appointed fiduciary in several Ohio counties.

Practices

      • Assisted families through the end-of-life decision regarding loved ones.
      • Represented legal guardians and counseled them through their duties and obligations in their capacity as fiduciaries.
      • Handled the probate portion of wrongful death settlements and asbestos litigation.
      • Represented numerous clients through probate litigation involving contested wills, trusts, appointment of fiduciaries, concealment of asset issues and several other probate litigation topics.
      • Acted as Court Appointed Guardian for several incompetent adults facing issues such as physical and mental illness and substance abuse.
      • Acted as trustee in several trust administration matters.
      • Acted as executor in probate administration matters.
      • Assisted non-Ohio resident clients with ancillary probate administration in Ohio for assets located in Ohio.
      • Assisted clients with the administration of foreign assets.
      • Assisted clients through estate tax audits.
      • Prepared and used private settlement agreements to assist clients in amending certain trust documents when necessary to achieve the grantor's intended result.
      • Structured estate plans that minimize estate taxes while retaining flexibility for future changes for high-net-worth clients.
      • Prepared estate plans for clients with non-citizen spouses.
      • Prepared unique plans for families with special needs beneficiaries to ensure the continuation of resource-based benefits.
  • Education

      • Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, J.D., 2003
      • John Carroll University, B.A., 2000

    Admissions

    • State of Ohio
      • United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
  • Professional Affiliations

      • Estate Planning Council of Cleveland – Member
      • Geauga County Bar Association – Member
      • Lake County Bar Association – Member
      • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association – Member
      • Ohio State Bar Association – Member

    Community Involvement

    • Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation – Member
      • University Hospitals Diamond Advisory Group – Member
      • BV Preeminent Peer Review Rated—Martindale-Hubbell