The lawyers of our Tax, Estate Planning and Probate Group counsel and represent clients with respect to estate planning, probate, guardianship, tax-exempt organization, charitable giving, and federal and state tax matters.

Our estate planning work includes the following: planning to minimize estate, gift, and income taxes; the preparation of wills, trusts and ancillary estate planning documents, such as durable general powers of attorney, directives to physician, and medical powers of attorney; formation of business entities for tax, succession, and asset protection planning purposes; and the performance of legal services in connection with other related estate, business, and succession planning.

We counsel and represent executors, administrations, trustees, guardians, agents, and beneficiaries with respect to fiduciary law issues, and we frequently assist fiduciaries with the performance of the legal aspects of their responsibilities. We handle contested and uncontested trust and estate matters, including will contests, will construction suits, property characterization disputes, trust and estate accounting controversies, and breach of fiduciary duty litigation.

Frequently, we assist our clients in securing appointment of guardians of the person and/or estate for minors and incapacitated adults, and we also represent proposed wards in guardianship litigation. These matters often result in the creation of guardianship management trusts, and we counsel the trustees of such trusts, and guardians of the person and/or estate, to ensure that they properly fulfill their numerous fiduciary responsibilities.

Our lawyers have extensive experience with state and local tax planning and compliance for businesses and individuals. We also represent clients before the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and in the courts on audit contests and other tax controversies. In conjunction with the firm's Legislative & Government Relations Practice Group, we represent businesses and industries on tax matters before the Texas Legislature.

Members of the practice group have years of experience dealing with formation of tax-exempt organizations, issues relating to tax-exempt status, charitable contributions, unrelated business income, private inurement, director liability, and controversies with the Office of the Attorney General.