In a comprehensive estate plan, wills and trusts are the primary vehicles that transfer your assets and property to your loved ones and other beneficiaries after your death. At Karen S. Gerstner & Associates, we apply our estate, trust, and tax law expertise and over 40 years of law practice experience in creating personalized wills and trusts that address your unique needs and achieve your personal and financial goals. Ultimately, wills and trusts provide you with the peace of mind and confidence that you have the crucial legal documents in place to transfer your estate, while minimizing taxes, preserving and protecting your assets, and passing on your estate in the manner you wish.

The modern trend of placing beneficiaries on every asset and account you own makes obtaining a comprehensive, integrated estate plan impossible. It is also a very inefficient and piecemeal way to transfer assets at death. Using this transfer method, rather than a will or trust, means that you have to be vigilant in changing every beneficiary designation form every time something occurs that affects your desired estate plan. Further, this method does not work with the tax and creditor-protection provisions you have included in your will or trust. It can also cause significant problems for your executor or trustee, because it prevents assets needed to pay your debts, taxes, and expenses from being in the control of your executor or trustee in their fiduciary position.

Expertise, Experience and Personal Client Attention

In assisting clients with wills and trusts, Karen S. Gerstner & Associates offers an exceptional level of expertise that sets the firm apart from other estate planning practitioners. Since 1986, Karen Gerstner has been Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Since 1999, Karen has been a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, an elite designation reserved for lawyers who demonstrate the highest level of professionalism and expertise in wills and trusts, estate planning and probate, and tax law.

In applying our legal expertise and over four decades of experience to help clients achieve their estate planning objectives, we maintain a commitment to the highest level of personal service to every client. We address every question and concern, provide services in a timely manner, communicate complicated concepts in terms that are easily understood, and treat each client with dignity at all times.

The success of our practice is demonstrated by the fact that most of our clients come to us through referrals from financial advisors, trust officers, accountants, and other clients.

Wills

A will, previously called a last will and testament, is an essential document in almost every estate plan. Specific laws in the State of Texas establish the requirements for making a valid will and also address the contents of a will. Our attorneys at Karen S. Gerstner & Associates apply expertise in estate planning and over four decades of practice experience in helping you navigate all the Texas legal requirements to ensure that your will is valid, carries out your wishes after death in the manner you desire, and addresses other concerns relating to probate and estate administration to the maximum extent possible.

Because Texas has one of the simplest probate processes of all fifty states, the majority of people living in Texas use a will as their primary estate planning vehicle. However, there are certain facts that might make a revocable trust (also called a living trust) a better estate planning vehicle than a will. Even in cases in which it is recommended that you put your estate plan in a revocable trust, you still need a will, because you might own assets at the time of your death that were not titled in the name of your revocable trust at the time of your death. In that case, your will is called a pour-over will because it pours over your assets transmissible by will upon your death to your revocable trust, for further administration and distribution pursuant to the terms of your revocable trust.

A will is not technically effective until it has been admitted to probate by the probate court. When the court admits your will to probate, it is basically a declaration that your will is valid and the terms of your will should be followed. In an uncontested case, obtaining probate of a will is a very quick and simple procedure in Texas.

Designation of the Executor of Your Estate

A will provides for two important matters that are triggered upon your death:

  1. Who is in charge of the post-death matters that must be handled when you die (the executor), and
  2. Who is entitled to the assets being distributed pursuant to your will when you die (the will beneficiaries).

Texas has unique provisions regarding executors. In Texas, a properly drafted will names someone to serve as Independent Executor, without bond. That means that, once the person is officially appointed as executor by the court, that person handles the post-death legal, tax and administration matters free from court control and supervision. It is very important that the person named as executor be responsible, trustworthy, and prudent, because that person will not be reporting their activities to the court or providing formal accountings to the beneficiaries.

Guardians for Minor Children

In a will, the parent of a minor child or an adult disabled child can name one or more guardians of that child to serve in the event of the parent’s death. Because parents often change their mind regarding appropriate legal guardians for their minor or disabled child, it is sometimes better to provide for guardians in a separate legal document that is easier to update. In addition, a separate document appointing a guardian can also cover the possibility that the parent might lose his or her mental capacity.

Trusts

At its core, a trust is a split of ownership between the trustee, who is considered the legal owner of the trust assets, and the beneficiary, the person for whose benefit the trust is created and administered. In some cases, the same individual is both the trustee and the beneficiary. Per Texas law, a trust is not considered to be a legal entity, but a relationship.

There are many different types of trusts, which can make understanding trusts difficult. The type of trust that is used as a primary estate planning vehicle instead of a will is a revocable trust. Everything that you can do in a will, you can do in a revocable trust. As the name indicates, you can revoke a revocable trust, and you can modify the terms of a revocable trust at any time during your life. A revocable trust is simply an alternate way to transfer your assets at death that also includes provisions relating to the management of your assets during your life. As noted above, there are certain specific factors that weigh in favor of using a revocable trust rather than a will as your primary estate planning vehicle.

In estate planning, we frequently create irrevocable trusts. As indicated, the terms of an irrevocable trust cannot be modified very easily, although certain legal agreements and court proceedings can result in changing the terms of an irrevocable trust. Irrevocable trusts are frequently used to obtain tax and creditor-protection benefits. Irrevocable trusts are also created to provide for the management of assets intended to provide health, education, support, and maintenance benefits to minors, incapacitated persons, and others who do not have the ability to manage assets. An irrevocable trust can be created in a will, in a revocable trust declaration, or in an irrevocable trust agreement. An irrevocable trust created in a will is called a testamentary trust.

Trust Basics

To create a trust, assistance from an experienced trust attorney is essential to ensure compliance with extensive, complex provisions of Texas law. A trust document includes:

  • Designation of a trustee (and, usually also, a successor trustee) to manage, administer, and distribute the trust assets,
  • Designation of the beneficiaries who are entitled to receive distributions from the trust, both currently and in the future, and
  • Detailed provisions governing management and administration of the trust, as well as how and when assets are distributed.

Purposes of a Trust

A properly drafted, established, and funded trust can accomplish a wide range of purposes, such as:

  • Minimizing taxes
  • Avoiding probate
  • Passing on your family financial legacy, while preserving and protecting assets from depletion through divorce, lawsuits, creditor’s claims, taxes and other causes
  • Protecting and preserving assets inherited by minor children
  • Providing benefits to family members who receive government financial support, without compromising eligibility
  • Implementing a charitable gifting plan

Types of Trusts

At Karen S. Gerstner & Associates, we have the expertise and experience to help clients establish all types of trusts, including sophisticated and complex trusts with beneficial tax implications. We help you determine whether your estate plan may benefit from including a trust, based on your needs and objectives. If you decide to create a trust, we apply our legal expertise in meticulously drafting a trust document that achieves your goals. Examples of the types of trusts that may achieve specific purposes in an estate plan include:

  • Living trusts
  • Descendant’s trusts
  • Bypass trusts
  • Marital trusts
  • Grantor trusts
  • Generation-skipping trusts
  • Gift trusts
  • Life insurance trusts
  • Spousal Lifetime Asset Trusts
  • Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
  • Charitable trusts
  • Special needs trusts
  • Asset protection trusts

Trusts are a valuable tool that can achieve a wide range of objectives in an estate plan and provide control over distribution of property even after your death. We apply our expertise in estate, trust, and tax law and over four decades of experience in assisting clients with all types of trusts.

Schedule a Consultation With Us About Wills and Trusts

Our attorneys welcome inquiries concerning wills and trusts. We serve clients throughout the Houston metropolitan area and elsewhere in Texas. Schedule a consultation by calling us at (713) 520-5205 or using the online contact form.