Nicholas J. Monterosso, JD, LLM
Founder and Managing Member
Nick specializes in wealth transfer planning and representing corporate trustees. He thrives in all the family and tax issues inherent in estate and tax planning. With four years of social work experience prior to law school, he brings an expanded view of relationship management to bear upon difficult business and estate planning decisions. His clients view him as a welcome guest in the dining room and board room alike.
Nick’s daily work falls into two categories. First, he counsels clients in tax-efficient wealth transfers, including the alphabet soup of irrevocable trust planning: IDGTs, SLATs, CLATs, etc. Nick protects his clients’ closely held business interests with shareholder agreements, buy-sell agreements, and liability-limiting structures. Second, Nick counsels corporate trustees and bank trust departments in all phases of irrevocable trust administration.
Nick’s decade-plus of experience includes roles as general counsel of a family-owned real estate development company to private practice at elite international law firms.
Nick graduated from the University of Michigan Law School (JD, 2013), the University of Florida Levin College of Law (LLM in Taxation, 2016), and Oakland University (BA in Political Science, 2006). Nick is admitted to practice law in Florida and Michigan. Nick served as Chair of the Estates and Trusts Committee of the Taxation Section of the State Bar of Michigan. He has also served on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board of the Children’s Center of Wayne County—Michigan’s largest nonprofit provider of mental health services to children.
Nick lives in Plantation, Florida with his wife and five children. A Michigan native, Nick loves the outdoors in rain or shine, and he enjoys playing the guitar at every free moment.
Francesca Alvaro, JD
Senior Counsel
Francesca analyzes and crafts tailored estate planning solutions. Her work focuses on drafting and refining revocable and irrevocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives, and related documents, with careful attention to how each instrument functions within the client’s overall planning objectives. She is known for her precision and disciplined drafting approach, anticipating issues, maintaining internal consistency across documents, and producing clear, reliable plans that faithfully reflect both legal requirements and client intent.
Francesca began her legal career as a federal attorney with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Department of Homeland Security), where she represented the agency in federal civil litigation involving money-laundering and asset forfeiture matters. She advised senior leadership on employment, contract, and administrative law; managed EEO complaints and MSPB appeals; and handled complex immigration and admissibility questions. Her experience also included customs and trade compliance, coordination with U.S. Attorneys in enforcement actions, and training agency personnel on lawful search procedures at the border.
After her federal service, Francesca devoted twenty years to raising and homeschooling her four children, and she continues to homeschool today. She also co-founded homeschooling cooperatives in her community and continues to lead them, developing curriculum, coordinating families, and teaching subjects ranging from logic to Latin.
She graduated magna cum laude from Barry University (1998) and earned her J.D. from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law (2001), with the distinction of graduating 2nd in her class. She served as an editor for the Nova Law Review, and she received multiple Highest Grade Awards.
Francesca lives in Plantation, Florida with her husband and four children. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with family and friends.