Estate Planning

An estate plan establishes the legal documents ----wills, durable powers of attorney and health care directives and one or more trusts ----, as applicable to transfer your assets.

Whether you are just starting out and need planning for yourself or your new family or are enjoying retirement, we are dedicated to being a dependable resource for you, your families and your business, for now and generations to come. We will work with you and your accounting, insurance, investment, banking, and trust professionals in meeting your needs and designing a plan for your family.

You are invited to call us for a free initial consultation to learn more about the personalized service provided by The Bandera Law Firm at fixed flat fees or reasonable hourly rates.

Wills
A Will is a document which provides the manner in which a person’s property will be distributed after death. It must meet certain formal requirements as provided by the laws of each state.  To read more about wills, click here:  WILLS

Revocable Trusts
A trust is an agreement that determines how a person's property is to be managed and distributed during his or her lifetime and also upon death.  A trust is classified as a "living" trust when it is established during the settlor's lifetime and as a "revocable" trust when the settlor has reserved the right to amend or revoke the trust during his or her lifetime.  To read more about revocable trusts, click here:  TRUSTS

Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney for finances -- or financial power of attorney -- is a simple and reliable way to arrange for someone to manage your finances if you become incapacitated (unable to make decisions for yourself). If you become unable to decide for yourself and you haven't prepared a durable power of attorney, a court proceeding is probably inescapable. Your spouse, closest relatives, or companion will have to ask a court for authority over at least some of your financial affairs.  To read more about powers of attorney, click here:  POWERS OF ATTORNEY

Health Care Directive
Establishing advance directives regarding future health care decisions can ensure that a person’s wishes are met and can also relieve families from having to make difficult decisions at a time of great stress. Generally, before a medical power of attorney goes into effect a person’s physician must conclude that they are unable to make their own medical decisions.  If a person regains the ability to make decisions, the agent cannot continue to act on the person's behalf.  Many states have additional requirements that apply only to decisions about life-sustaining medical treatments.  To read more about health care directives, click here:  HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE/DESIGNATION OF HEALTH CARE SURROGATE

Irrevocable Trusts
An Irrevocable Trust is one that by its terms can not be amended, modified, changed or revoked. Irrevocable Trusts are commonly used to reduce estate taxes (by gifting or selling assets to the trust), protect assets and to make charitable gifts. If you would like more information about revocable trusts, please call us.

Do It Yourself Estate Plans
Esate planning myth: An estate plan that you do yourself using a book or computer program will work just as well as an estate plan done by an experienced estate planning attorney.

Estate planning fact: An estate plan does not have to cost a fortune, but only an experienced estate planning attorney can evaluate your situation and recommend and help you implement an appropriate plan.

The self help legal sites each have a disclaimer that states that the information provided is not legal advice, but general information on legal issues commonly encountered. The company is not a law firm and is not a substitute for an attorney or law firm.  This is not the type of help you should want for such an important part of your life.

You can read "10 Steps to Creating an Estate Plan" and about the pitfalls of a do it yourself estate plan including the class action suit against Legal Zoom at http://wills/about.com/estateplanning, an online blog written by Julie Garber, Esq. since 2008.

Estate and Gift Taxes for Non-U.S. Citizens
Upon the death of a U.S. citizen or U.S.-domiciled foreign individual, her taxable estate is subject to estate tax. The taxable estate includes the fair market value of all of a decedent’s assets, wherever located, less available deductions. Deductions are permitted for funeral and administration expenses, creditors’ claims, charitable bequests, casualty losses, and other expenses.  But planning for gifts and bequests to a non-citizen spouse differs greatly.  To read more, click here:  PLANNING FOR NON CITIZEN SPOUSES