Practice Areas

ESTATE PLANNING

Your estate plan should be designed to protect and preserve wealth for you and your loved ones and might include a combination of the documents listed below.

  • Revocable Trust
  • Powers of Attorney
  • Designation of Health Care Agent/Surrogate
  • Wills
  • Dynasty Trusts
  • Generation Skipping Tax Exempt Trusts
  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
  • Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
  • Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
  • Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
  • Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
  • Qualified Domestic Trusts

A complete estate plan also includes provisions for your pets, personal property and digital data.  Often overlooked items include:

  • Gold and Silver
  • Firearms
  • Artwork
  • Collectibles
  • Family Photos and Keepsakes
  • Social Networking Pages
  • Email Accounts
  • Professional and Business Websites

Don’t forget about your family's best friend by incorporating Pet Directives and Pet Trusts in your plan.

WEALTH PRESERVATION-ASSET PROTECTION

Wealth Preservation planning is an assessment of your personal and professional risk followed by an integration of your business plan, estate plan, asset ownership and insurance needs. Wealth preservation planning should be of interest to everyone, but it is particularly important for professionals such as veterinarians, dentists, doctors, physician assistants and business owners.

The Bandera Law Firm can assist you with understanding risk and identifying plans that will help you manage it as well as mitigate it for future generations. This planning could include:

  • Limited Liability Entities
  • Identifying exempt assets and preserving their exempt nature 
  • Trust Funding
  • Private Annuities and other irrevocable trusts such as GRATs
  • Domestic Self Settled Asset Protection Trusts where allowed
  • Spendthrift Trusts for children and other heirs  

CHARITABLE GIVING AND NON-PROFIT FORMATION

Wealth brings with it the opportunity to make a difference. Whether your interests are large or small, regional, or international, The Bandera Law Firm can help you build a charitable solution that best fits you and your vision. You can make a difference, we can help. The plan might include:

  • Charitable Remainder Unitrusts
  • Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts
  • Charitable Gifts of Life Insurance
  • Charitable Lead Trusts
  • Net Income Remainder Trusts
  • Donor Advised Funds
  • Establishing a Private Foundation or Supporting Organization

BUSINESS ENTITY FORMATION AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Businesses are built on ideas. Whether you are in the initial idea phase, looking to transfer your business to the next generation or a third party or somewhere between, we can help.

  • Entity Selection (choosing the business form that is right for you)
  • Entity Formation
  • Operating and Shareholder Agreements
  • Exit Strategies and Succession Planning
  • Employment Agreements
  • Non-compete and Non-disclosure Agreements
  • Corporate and Business Entity Maintenance