Estate Planning and Probate Lawyer

It's your legacy. Let us help you protect it. At The Wright Firm, L.L.P., in Dallas, Texas, we offer a wide range of estate planning and probate services to meet our clients' needs. Let us draft your will, trust, durable power of attorney or healthcare documents. You've worked hard to build your assets. We'll work hard for you to help you protect them.

Contact our office or call us at 1-877-353-4600 to schedule a confidential consultation.

Our attorneys can assist you with any of the following:

• Wills - Non Tax Planned
• Wills - Tax Planned
• Trusts
• Family Limited Partnerships
• Private Foundations
• Durable Powers of Attorney
• Medical Powers of Attorney
• Directive to Physicians - Living Wills
• Medical Authorization Forms
• Declaration of Guardian
• Burial Directives
• Gift Planning - Charitable and Non Charitable
• Tax Planning

Death and Taxes

The infamous two certainties in life: death and taxes. Neither is pleasant to consider, so let The Wright Firm, L.L.P. focus on the tax aspects of death for you. We will work with you to plan your estate so that it passes on to your loved ones with minimized tax burdens.

The Planning Process

We will begin by having you fill out an estate planning questionnaire to help us identify your assets and determine what tax consequences and other special circumstances need to be taken into consideration. This can be tedious and time consuming, but remember – we can't help you plan for what we don't know about!

Once we have identified your assets, we can distinguish between the probate and non-probate property. Non-probate property or assets will pass automatically to a designated person when you pass away. A common example is life insurance. The proceeds of a life insurance policy will go directly to the designated beneficiary of the policy without any court intervention or being bequeathed in your will. Other common examples of non-probate assets are retirement benefits, Payable-on-Death bank accounts ("P.O.D.") or property held as joint tenants with the right of survivorship.

Any other assets that do not pass automatically to the designated beneficiary are considered probate assets. These assets must be "marshaled," or gathered together, by the executor of your estate to pay off debts, pay legal and administrative fees, and eventually to distribute to your beneficiaries. Often, our clients desire to minimize the proportion of their estates that pass through probate. Both probate and non-probate transfers have their pros and cons. We can discuss with you what options will work best for your goals.

We will then work with you to determine your estate planning goals and what planning tools best fit those goals. We will draft all your paperwork in a meticulous and professional manner, so you can rest assured that your loved ones will be taken care of.

Where there's a will...

Already have an estate plan? Great! We recommend you get a "check-up" on your estate plan every 3 to 5 years to keep it up to date with your growing and changing family, life situation and needs. It's also a good idea to have an attorney re-evaluate your estate plan if you have recently had a major life event or change in financial circumstances. Have you gotten married? Divorced? Had a child? Lost a parent? Inherited from a wealthy relative? Filed for bankruptcy? We at The Wright Firm, L.L.P. can help you determine if the plan you have is still the best for your needs and goals.

Probate Administration

Probate is the label given to a complex set of legal proceedings which include determining who will be heirs of a deceased person, determining the existence and validity of a will, determining whether or not to open administration of an estate, and generally any other matter that concerns the estate of a deceased person.

During the probate process, the deceased's will must be "admitted" if a will existed. A personal representative must be appointed and qualified who will then carry out the "administration" of the estate. Administration includes gathering all the assets together, notifying the deceased's creditors, preparing tax returns, determining who is entitled to receive what estate property and so forth.

The Texas Probate Code has many technical twists and turns for the unwary. It's important to find an attorney with the expertise to help you negotiate those twists. At The Wright Firm, L.L.P., our attorneys have the experience to help you, whether you are the personal representative of an estate or a beneficiary. We also work with out-of-state beneficiaries who need assistance with Texas probate matters. Our probate practice covers the following areas:

• Probate Administration
• Probate Appeals
• Probate Litigation
• Will Contests
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Beneficiary Rights
• Ancillary Probate
• Probate for Non US Citizens
• Abuse of a Power of Attorney
• Trust Litigation
• Surcharge Actions
• Creditor Claims
• Tax Issues Associated with Probate

Contact The Wright Firm, L.L.P.

For a confidential consultation with an experienced probate attorney and estate planning lawyer, call us at 1-877-353-4600 for an appointment or contact us through our online intake form.

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