Texas Estate Planning, Administration, & Probate Attorney
There are many things to consider when coming up with a comprehensive estate plan. You may want to maximize the inheritance to your designated beneficiaries, minimize the federal impact of income and estate tax laws, avoid probate and protect what you leave your beneficiaries from creditors and failed marriages. At the San Antonio Law Office of Thomas G. Bassler we have handled hundreds of estate planning and trust administration and planning cases over the last 20 years.
Board Certified Estate Planning and Probate Law Attorney
Contact the Law Offices of Thomas G. Bassler today.
If you do not do your own estate planning, the State of Texas will do it for you. The problem is the State's plan is the same for everyone and the State, not you, directs who receives your assets and who is in charge of settling your estate.
Sometimes the beneficiary may not be the person who you think. For example, what if John and Mary are married and own a home and John dies without a Last Will and Testament? Under the State's Will, if John has a child from outside his marriage to Mary, the child inherits John's one-half (1/2) interest in the home. That may not have been how John would have left his interest in the home if he had written his own Will. By taking the time to come up with an estate plan, you can avoid the effects of the State's Will.
Coming up with the right estate plan is about more than Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney. It is about protecting your estate from creditors, probate law and the effects of tax law. Attorney Thomas G. Bassler has a Masters in the Laws of Taxation and is a Board Certified Estate Planning and Probate Lawyer. His experience offers his clients a unique insight into their financial future. He can help you consider all your estate planning options:
- Revocable Living Trusts And Last Will and Testaments
- Tax Oriented Living Trusts and Last Wills and Testaments
- Naming Executors, Trustees, and Personal Representatives
- Asset, creditor, divorce and estate tax protection
- Charitable Planning
- Family trust and generation skipping Trust planning
- Estate and gift taxation and planning
- International estate taxation and tax planning
- Ancillary and out of state probate issues
Probate and Estate Administration
Whether or not your loved one has left behind a will or estate plan, you will have to administer their assets. There are important deadlines and time period statutes that must be considered.
Wealth Preservation and Asset Protection
Texans enjoy some of the most liberal exempt property statutes in the country. A significant issue in any estate plan should be the preservation and protection of the assets one earns, inherits or accumulates. The Texas Constitution and related statutes provide that the following list of property is exempt from execution and attachment from one's creditors:
1. Rural Homestead - 200 Acres of land for a Couple (100 acres for a Single Person) if used as the primary residence of the Texan.
2. Urban Homesteads - 10 Acres of land which may be one or more continuous lots, together with improvements.
3. Business Homestead - Land situated at one location with operating family business up to 10 acres.
4. Personal Property - $60,000 for Couples ($30,000 for a Single Person) includes automobiles, furnishings and jewelry up to a limited amount.
5. Retirement Plans - Most qualified retirement plans are exempt with limited exceptions.
6. College Savings Plans - Internal Revenue Service Code 529 Plans.
7. Life Insurance Proceeds.
8. Annuities
At the Law Offices of Thomas G. Bassler, P.C., we integrate asset protection and wealth preservation techniques as part of an overall plan. Assets that exceed the statutory list provided above need special handling and planning to insulate them from the reach of creditors.
Contact
Whether you want to come up with an estate plan or it is time to administer your loved one's estate, we can help you come up with a plan that works for your family. Our San Antonio offices are open from Monday through Friday, 8 to 5. Spanish is spoken in the office. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.
Law Office of Thomas G. Bassler, P.C.
306 West Sunset Road, Suite 119
San Antonio, Texas 78209-1721
Phone: 210-826-8885
Fax: 210-826-2236
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