Trusts, Estates, and Co-Inheritors 

• Marital Charters and Prenuptial Agreements
  American Journal of Family Law
  David Gage, Edward J. Kopf, and John A. Gromala
  Fall 2008
  “A new relationship is beginning. Two people are getting married. They are equals in many respects but not in every way. One person has significantly more wealth entering the marriage. What’s a person to do? What should they do?” Pre- or post-nuptial agreements are the primary method or tool that lawyers offer clients to protect their clients and create a sense of fairness. Unfortunately, they often leave couples feeling like adversaries. The authors wrote about a radically different approach couples can employ when they need a pre-nup agreement. A collaborative pre-nup process may sound like an oxymoron, but it is possible to approach the challenge of reaching agreements about money and assets by talking together with one mediator rather than relying on opposing lawyers.
• Estate Planning as a Family: A Collaborative Approach
  Passages
  David Gage, Ph.D.
  2005
    The time has come to cast estate planning in a fresh light. For too long, parents and their advisors have conducted estate planning behind closed doors. Each year, billions of dollars of family assets pass from benefactors to inheritors, but the process continues to be one of the most sensitive—and secretive—activities within families.
• Mediation Retreats: A Pre-Estate-Planning Strategy
  Private Wealth Management
  David Gage and John Gromala
  2004
  The estate-planning process can be an effective and satisfying experience for all involved and is less likely to result in legal battles if advisors would recommend a preliminary step for the family.
• Successor Partners: Gifting or Transferring a Business or Real Property to the Next Generation
  ACTEC Journal
  David Gage, John Gromala and Edward Kopf
  Winter 2004
  This article explores ways to overcome the risks that arise whenever a business or other asset is transferred from one generation to more than one member of the next. It focuses on various strategies for the successful transfer of operating businesses when the beneficiaries will be partners in the ownership and/or operation of the bequest.
• Holistic Estate Planning and Integrating Mediation in the Planning Process
  Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal
  David Gage, John Gromala and Edward Kopf
  Fall 2004
  This article discusses holistic estate planning as an alternative to traditional estate planning and explores the advantages of this alternative method, which uses mediation techniques and family dynamics specialists to facilitate the pre-estate planning process. Participation of the entire family in collaborative estate planning allows parents, children, and estate planning attorneys to create a better estate plan that will transfer not only family assets but also family values and traditions.