ESTATE PLANNING
The firm offers substantial depth of experience to clients with its estate planning and probate attorneys, who can assist with tax issues, trust formation and documentation, estate planning, wealth transfer issues, business planning, and trust and estate administration. We can assist clients in drafting and implementing related documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, medical directives and other estate planning documents. Our attorneys also have experience in administration of estates, trusts and probate, including representation of individuals, executors and trustees, extending to providing representation in related litigation when necessary. We also have attorneys experienced in guardianship and elder law issues.
Decker Jones trial attorneys have experience in representing both corporate and individual fiduciaries in litigated matters, including those involving claims for breach of fiduciary duty. In representing corporate and individual clients, our trial lawyers have handled virtually all types of estate and probate litigation, including will contests. Our trial attorneys frequently coordinate representation of clients in this area with representation by attorneys practicing in our Estate, Probate and Tax Sections of the firm.
Our attorneys represent public companies, closely-held companies and individuals in all aspects of taxation, including tax planning, estate planning, exempt organizations and tax controversies.
Tax Planning and Structuring
Our tax planning practice focuses on federal, state and international taxation of corporations, partnerships and high-income individuals. We provide a wide range of tax planning services, including forming, structuring, and restructuring corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and all other types of business organizations; executive compensation and stock option plans; taxable and tax-free mergers, acquisitions and spin-offs; real estate development, investments, sales and like-kind exchanges; financings and workouts; tax credit transactions such as the rehabilitation tax credit and low-income housing tax credit; inbound and outbound international transactions, international operations, and international employees; international transfer pricing; and state franchise, income, sales and use taxes.
Estate Planning
Our estate planning practice covers the spectrum from basic wills, trusts, powers of attorney and beneficiary designations, and estate and trust administration, to estate and gift tax planning and succession planning for high net worth individuals and family groups. We have the experience needed to plan and implement sophisticated estate planning strategies, such as installment sales, grantor trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, GRATs, family limited partnerships, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts. We also provide advice on life insurance planning, including the use of life insurance trusts, private placement insurance, and premium payment arrangements such as split-dollar, and premium financing.
Tax Exempt Organizations
We also handle a range of matters involving tax-exempt organizations. We assist individual clients in the formation of private foundations, and obtain tax exempt status for those foundations. We also enjoy working with many public charities on formation, qualification, and obtaining tax exempt status. On an on-going basis, we are available to advise non-profits on the complex organizational and operational restrictions imposed on exempt organizations by the tax system, and the corporate law system. A related area of this aspect of our work is the advising of donors on how to structure planned gifts, including the appropriate use of donor advised funds, gift annuities, gift agreements, endowments, and various forms of charitable trusts.
Tax Controversy and Litigation
Our tax controversy practice focuses on representing clients in income, estate and gift tax disputes before the federal and state taxing authorities. We also provide state and local tax controversy representation, including corporate income, franchise margins, sales/use and property tax matters. We provide a wide range of tax controversy services, including assisting during the audit, preparing the protest and negotiating with the IRS Appeals Office, the Texas Comptroller, or other administrative appeals office, property tax disputes from the appraisal review board process forward and filing and pursuing the tax matter in U.S. Tax Court, State district court or other applicable court. We also represent tax payers in appellate court.