• Estate Planning. We advise our clients in all facets of estate planning, which encompasses the drafting and planning for the disposition of property for preservation of wealth from taxes and creditors through the use of various planning techniques, including lifetime gifts, and intra-family sales, life insurance and other complex trusts, family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, grantor retained annuity and unitrusts, qualified personal residence trusts, wills, business and medical powers of attorney and directives to physicians, and related planning techniques. • Estate and Trust Administration. An integral part of our practice involves the administration of trusts and estates, including independent (and on a selective basis, dependent) and ancillary probate procedures, guardianships, income tax planning, preparation of U.S. Estate tax returns, audit negotiations with the Internal Revenue Service, preparation of tax protests, private letter ruling requests and coordinating dissolution of partnerships and closely held corporations. • Business Continuation Planning. Many of our clients are owners of closely held businesses. We consult with them on business continuation planning, including formation of closely held businesses, buy-sell agreements, split dollar life insurance agreements, business recapitalizations, certain non-qualified deferred compensation agreements, and family business succession planning. • Charitable Planning. Charitable planning is another important facet of our practice, including charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and creation of private foundations and other exempt organizations in connection with charitable planning. • Fiduciary Representation and Estate and Trust Controversy Matters. We represent fiduciaries and coordinate fiduciary litigation matters, including fiduciary liability issues, will contests, and trust modification and construction issues. • Marital Property Issues. We also advise our clients on the Texas community property system and related marital property matters, including premarital and postmarital property agreements between spouses. |
