Denton Estate Planning Attorney

Protect your legacy and your loved ones by making your wishes legally binding. There’s no such thing as a simple estate, but that doesn’t mean estate planning has to be difficult. We don’t dabble in estate planning – it’s what we do.

If you’ve just lost a loved one, their estate may need to go through the probate process to transfer their assets to their heirs. Many times, the process can be mitigated or avoided entirely. Choosing the wrong probate attorney could be disastrous for you and your loved one’s legacy.

Wills are the most common estate planning strategy in Texas. At its core, a will simply states who will be in charge of your legacy and who will inherit your legacy. For many people, the simplicity of a will is just what they need to start the estate planning process.

Trusts aren’t just for tax planning (although they’re great for that, too). If you want to make things easier and faster for your loved ones, you need a trust. Trusts are extremely popular for people who haven’t updated their will in over 5 years, people moving to Texas, and people who have no estate planning at all.

Divorce, predators, and lawsuits threaten those you love the most. Estate taxes are a constant fear for even the humblest legacies. If your legacy involves disability, privacy concerns, potential conflict, or blended families, protect your assets with our cutting-edge legal strategies and rest easy knowing you’ve secured your legacy for generations to come.

Your business is your life’s work. Protecting your legacy is simply too important to rely on someone who doesn’t focus on business planning. We’ve mastered the legalese so you don’t have to.

LLCs are the workhorse of modern business entities. Flexible, dynamic, and powerful, the LLC can be molded into your vision for your business or investment company. You only have one chance to plan your LLC the best possible way for your legacy.

The S-Corporation is a tried-and-true mainstay business entity. They can be easily managed and traded so you can use your expertise to grow and attract investors at every step. Taking a wrong step setting up or maintaining your S-Corp can be disastrous.

Partnerships are “business marriages” that simply must be planned correctly from the beginning. When you don’t need a business entity as formal as an LLC or corporation, a partnership may be exactly what you’re looking for.

If you need a license from the State of Texas to do business, you need a professional practice. Professionals deal with unique challenges when it comes to ownership, retirement, and asset protection. Not only will your business rely on the design of your corporate structure, but your license will too.

As bizarre as it is, the government won’t let your death stop them from taxing you. According to the IRS, the estate tax is “a tax on your right to transfer property at your death,” which is one of the reasons it’s often referred to as a “death tax.” This means that when a person dies, the federal and/or state government will assess the estate’s worth and claim a percentage in a process called probate.

You may immediately think: “I don’t need Medicaid, and, more importantly, I don’t qualify for it.” But you might be surprised. While it may be true that you don’t, by true definition, “need” the free financial assistance that Medicaid can provide, you can still benefit from it and use it to protect your assets for your family.

An Irrevocable Living Trusts is trust that, once in place, can’t be changed without the beneficiary’s permission or a court’s approval. We can help you design an irrevocable living trust to protect certain assets from being taxed and penalized.

A testamentary trust is one that is established in a person’s last will and testament. It is not created until after the person has passed away. Additionally, a will may contain more than one testamentary trust. Although they play an important role in wealth management, testamentary trusts are not for everyone. 

GRATs aren’t an ideal estate planning tool for everyone. They’re typically the most beneficial to wealthy individuals whose assets will be subject to significant estate tax liability when they die. Despite being irrevocable trusts rather than living trusts, GRATs allow for substitution of assets, as long as the value of the assets is matched by the value of replacement assets.

A generation-skipping trust is a special kind of fiduciary arrangement by which a grantor (the owner) passes down assets to a later generation that is not their children. The grantor skips over their children to pass the inheritance to their grandchildren or another young person, which is how this trust earned its name.

Our Wealth Protection plan connects you with our vast experience with high-net-worth clients and our most closely trusted advisors including CPAs, insurance specialists, and financial advisors.  Every Wealth Protection plan will be different depending on your needs and goals, but each plan will help you maximize growth, control, and distribution of your assets.

A family limited partnership (FLP) is a legal arrangement in which a family business or asset is placed into a partnership and owned by multiple family members. The partnership is typically established by a parent or senior family member, who transfers ownership of the business or asset to the partnership in exchange for an ownership interest in the partnership, known as a "unit."

The trust administration process can be a challenging task, but it is an important responsibility for the trust administrator or trustees. By following the terms of the trust document and acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries, they can help ensure that the trust assets are managed and distributed according to the wishes of the trust creator.

As a successful entrepreneur, you’ve put your heart and soul into your business. You’ve sacrificed and made the hard calls, and all of your diligence has paid off. But before you can enjoy all the fruits of your labor, you have one more big decision to make: What will happen to your company after you’re gone? If you want your business to be a source of financial security for your family for years to come, you need to set a plan in motion now.

Think back to a mistake you’ve made with your business, something you wish you could do over. Don’t you wish there had been someone there to guide you in the right direction? In a sense, that’s what a business lawyer is: Someone who checks over your plans to help you avoid legal pitfalls and position your company for long-term success.