Texas Advanced Estate Planning Lawyers
Planning for estate taxes and unique family assets
If your estate is larger than the lifetime exemption amount or your family has complex or unusual assets, you might benefit from an estate plan that’s more advanced than a standard will and power of attorney.
At the law firm of Shann M. Chaudhry Esq., Attorney at Law, PLLC, our estate planning lawyers have extensive experience in helping families preserve businesses, pass on unique assets, and reduce their estate tax burden.
We enjoy building lifelong relationships with the families and individuals we work with. We can support you in creating a personalized estate plan that meets your specific needs and goals.
If you’re interested in advanced estate planning, contact us. Our experienced Texas estate planning lawyers can guide you through the process.
What is Advanced Estate Planning?
Estate taxes can put legacies at risk for families with complex or unusual assets. To keep your family business together or hold on to a piece of family heritage, it might require advanced estate planning strategies.
Working with an estate planning attorney, you can use trusts and other nuances of tax law to create a sophisticated estate plan that supports your family’s unique situation and goals.
Likewise, suppose your family’s estate is larger than the limit for passing on generational wealth without paying hefty estate or gift taxes. In that case, you might benefit from a more comprehensive estate plan.
Our approach
At SMC ESQ PLLC, our founding values of empathy and service are central to our estate planning process.
We break things down into bite-sized chunks so that you get all the information without being overwhelmed. We also listen carefully to your concerns, goals, and family situation to create an estate plan that’s tailored just right for your needs.
Benefits of Advanced Estate Planning
Advanced estate planning can support your family’s goals. A personalized estate plan may minimize or eliminate your estate tax. Estate plans can also help protect valuable assets from the twists and turns of life, including lawsuits and divorce.
If you’re interested in passing on your wealth to their children and grandchildren, an advanced estate plan lets you use tools like dynasty trusts to support a long-term strategy for your assets.
And if giving back to charities is part of your intended legacy, estate planning helps you support the causes close to your heart while also helping you benefit from a lower estate tax.
Benefits of Advanced Estate Planning
Advanced estate planning can support your family’s goals. A personalized estate plan may minimize or eliminate your estate tax. Estate plans can also help protect valuable assets from the twists and turns of life, including lawsuits and divorce.
If you’re interested in passing on your wealth to their children and grandchildren, an advanced estate plan lets you use tools like dynasty trusts to support a long-term strategy for your assets.
And if giving back to charities is part of your intended legacy, estate planning helps you support the causes close to your heart while also helping you benefit from a lower estate tax.
Advanced Estate Planning Strategies
There are a lot of different estate planning strategies out there. We can help you determine which ones will best serve your long-term goals and needs—and we’ll help you implement them.
Business owners
For business owners, family limited liability companies are a common way to protect your business from creditors and split wealth across generations. Likewise, family limited partnerships help minimize or eliminate estate tax as you pass on your business to the next generation.
Giving back
If you want to support a favorite charity while still getting tax benefits, a charitable remainder trust or other charity-supporting approaches can help you achieve both goals.
Giving back
If you want to support a favorite charity while still getting tax benefits, a charitable remainder trust or other charity-supporting approaches can help you achieve both goals.
Leaving a legacy
If you want to leave a legacy for future generations, a dynasty trust helps your family pass wealth from one generation to the next—without subjecting those assets to estate or gift taxes.
Likewise, qualified personal residence trusts let you keep living in your home while transferring interest to family members. By doing this, your home can be removed from your estate for gift tax purposes by doing this.
Of course, many other types of trusts, such as irrevocable life insurance trusts, offer tried-and-true methods for minimizing estate taxes and protecting assets.
Schedule a Consultation with an Estate Planning Attorney
At the law firm of Shann M. Chaudhry Esq., Attorney at Law PLLC, we take pride in our empathetic and communicative estate planning services. We’ll listen to your needs and goals and respond promptly to any questions.
Our estate planning lawyers are dedicated to service the whole way through. We have extensive experience helping families and individuals protect what they’ve built, give back, and support the next generation.
If you’re interested in creating an advanced estate plan, contact us. Our Texas estate planning lawyers can guide you through the process.
TX Advanced Estate Planning FAQs
What’s the difference between estate planning and advanced estate planning?
Estate planning provides for common estate planning needs that many people have, such as:
- A will
- Durable Power of Attorney
- A revocable living trust
- A living will or health care proxy
However, more advanced estate planning offers lots of benefits for high-net-worth individuals or those who wish to keep a complex asset, such as a family business, in the family without facing hefty estate taxes.
Advanced estate planning:
- Minimizes or eliminates estate and gift taxes
- Protects assets
- Ensures a tax-efficient transfer of a family business to the next generation
- Structures the transfer of family wealth in a way that supports the next generation
Who needs an advanced estate plan?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all in estate planning, people who need an advanced estate plan usually:
- Have an estate that’s worth more than the lifetime exemption amount
- Wish to minimize estate taxes
- Have complex or unusual family assets, OR
- Have a valuable family business they want to pass on to the next generation
Do I need a lawyer for an estate plan?
Taking a DIY approach to creating an estate plan isn’t recommended, especially an advanced estate plan. There are a lot of nuances to tax law.
Likewise, every person’s situation is different. Just because you read about a certain kind of trust on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best option for your specific goals and needs.
To ensure that you don’t put a lot of time into a DIY plan that doesn’t legally accomplish what you’re aiming for, we strongly recommend working with an estate planning lawyer. They’ll be able to answer questions and guide you through the legal process.