Texas Estate Planning contains the most comprehensive estate planning information available in one reference, at an affordable price.  With Texas Estate Planning at your side, preparing wills, trusts and durable powers of attorney has never been easier. This must-have guide explains current federal and state statutory and case law. Hundreds of forms, together with explanations of how best to apply them, will assist you in preparing client wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and more. From writing a simple will to preparing a complicated trust document, Texas Estate Planning clarifies statutes and outlines court opinions in an easy-to-understand, quick-to-reference manner.

Professor William Byrnes of Texas A&M University School of Law and author of nine Lexis legal treatises has been appointed as the primary author of Texas Estate Planning to resume the outstanding work of Sam K. Hildebrand and Erin N. Tuggle of Jackson Walker LLP.  William Byrnes has assembled a team of preeminent subject matter experts as chapter contributors, including alphabetically: Tena Fox (Leach & Fox), Terry Leach (Leach & Fox), Carlos Rocha (Texas A&M Law), Benjamin Terner (The Einstein Group), Kim Donovan Uskovich (Kelly Hart), and James Weller (Greenway Capital Advisors).

William Byrnes will be expanding the issues addressed within Texas Estate Planning. This annual supplement contains two new chapters: on alternative risk transfer and on asset protection.  Future chapters will include estate planning issues unique for entrepreneurs, for industries such as oil and gas, and for family offices.

Texas Estate Planning includes comprehensive coverage of wills, trusts and durable powers of attorney. It guides you through the basics of selecting the appropriate estate planning device and tax considerations, and provides detailed information such as requirements for a valid will and organization of the document. Trust planning, terms, types, funding, and implementation are thoroughly explained.

This all-encompassing guide is ideal for Texas general practice, estate planning, and probate attorneys, as it contains the most current federal and state statutory and case law. Attorneys with little or no estate planning experience will manage client needs with ease and even the most experienced estate planning expert will save countless hours by using Texas Estate Planning for clarification and reference. Subscribers should send editorial feedback and interest in new topic coverage to williambyrnes@gmail.com.

PART 1: PLANNING

Chapter 1 Selecting Appropriate Estate Planning Devices
Chapter 2 Overview of Transfer Tax System
Chapter 3 The Marital Deduction
Chapter 4 Office Procedures
Chapter 5 Alternative Risk Transfer
Chapter 6 Asset Protection [chapters 7 – 9 Reserved]

PART 2: WILLS

Chapter 10 Requirements for Valid Will
Chapter 11 Organization of Wills
Chapter 12 Devises in General
Chapter 13 Charitable Devises
Chapter 14 Devises
Chapter 15 Executors
Chapter 16 Guardianships
Chapters 17–29 [Reserved]

PART 3: TRUSTS

Planning and Terms
Chapter 30 Trust Planning
Chapter 31 Trust Taxation and Tax Planning
Chapter 32 Requirements for Valid Trust
Chapter 33 Organization of Trust Instruments
Chapter 34 Trust Distributions
Chapter 35 Trustees
Chapters 36–39 [Reserved]

Specific Types of Trusts
Chapter 40 Testamentary Trusts
Chapter 41 Marital Deduction Trusts
Chapter 42 Revocable Inter Vivos Trusts

VOLUME 2

Chapter 43 Generation-Skipping Transfers and Trust Strategies
Chapter 44 Irrevocable Inter Vivos Trusts
Chapter 45 Charitable Remainder Trusts
Chapter 46 Charitable Lead Trusts
Chapter 47 Life Insurance and Life Insurance Trusts
Chapters 48–59 [Reserved]

Funding and Implementation
Chapter 60 Trust Property
Chapter 61 Implementing Revocable Inter Vivos Trust
Chapters 62–69 [Reserved]

PART 4: DURABLE POWERS OF ATTORNEY

Chapter 70 Powers of Attorney for Property Management and Health Care
Chapters 71–99 [Reserved]

PART 5: FORMS

Chapter 100 Complete Wills
Chapters 101–119 [Reserved]
Chapter 120 Will Clauses
Chapters 121–149 [Reserved]
Chapter 150 Complete Trusts
Chapters 151–169 [Reserved]
Chapter 170 Trust Clauses
Chapters 171–189 [Reserved]
Chapter 190 Partition and Exchange Agreements
Chapters 191–199 [Reserved]
Chapter 200 Complete Power of Attorney Forms

Lead Author and Revision Editor

Prof. William H. Byrnes, IV

Professor William Byrnes (Texas A&M University School of Law) has authored and co-authored nine Lexis multi-volume publications including Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture and Recovery, and Compliance—A Global Guide; Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing; Taxation of Intellectual Property & Technology; Taxation of Oil & Gas Transactions; Guide to FATCA and CRS Compliance; Foreign Tax & Trade Briefs; Tax Havens of the World; International Withholding Tax Treaty Guide; and Texas Estate Planning. William Byrnes’ many treatises are cited as authoritative and used by legal and tax counsel as well as government employees.  His annual Tax Facts books are available on Lexis’ electronic bookstore and his newsletter Tax Facts Intelligence available on Lexis Advance and Lexis Tax Advance.  William Byrnes served in senior positions for international tax, focused on transfer pricing, with Coopers and Lybrand, consulting to multinationals global operations. He has founded a risk management and a wealth management program at Texas A&M University School of Law. William Byrnes was a tenured professor of law with St. Thomas and a lecturer with two departments of accountancy. William Byrnes established an international tax program in 1994 and pioneered online legal education. He may be contacted at williambyrnes@gmail.com.

Contributors

Stoker Burt is currently completing his Juris Doctorate candidacy at the Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth, TX. He is also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Stoker is an update contributor for Lexis’ Guide for Texas Estate Planning.  He may be contacted at stokerburt@gmail.com. 

Tena G. Fox, Esq. is a partner of Leach and Fox, P.C.  Leach and Fox, P.C. is a boutique firm in Tarrant County, Texas specializing in Estate Planning, Probate and Trusts. Tena is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  Tena is the current President of the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association and is a member of the Texas Academy of Probate and Trust Lawyers and a Texas Bar College Fellow. She has been named by Thompson Reuters as a Super Lawyer Rising Star and as a Top Attorney by Fort Worth Magazine.  She is also rated AV by Martindale Hubbell.  She has served on the Tarrant County Probate Bar Seminar Committees and given various speeches on various topics in Estate Planning and Probate Law. She may be contacted at tfox@leachfoxlaw.com.  Her contribution includes Chapters 12, 14 and 15. 

Terry Leach, Esq. is the senior partner of Leach and Fox, P.C.  Leach and Fox, P.C. is a boutique firm in Tarrant County, Texas specializing in Estate Planning, Probate and Trusts. Terry has been Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1989. He is a member of the Texas Academy of Probate and Trust Lawyers and was a founding director of the Tarrant County Probate Bar. He has been a presenter at numerous CLE programs. Papers include Tools In The Estate Planners Toolbox, Basic Estate Planning For Non -Attorneys, Probate And Estate Planning Update, Probate Nuts and Bolts- From Intake To Inventory. He may be contacted at tleach@leachfoxlaw.com.  His contribution include Chapters 70 and 200. 

Patrick J. McCormick, Esq., is a partner with Drucker & Scaccetti in Philadelphia, PA. His practice centers on all aspects of international taxation. Patrick has written articles featured in Tax Notes, the Journal of Taxation, Tax Notes International, Law360, the Journal of International Taxation, and assorted other journals. Patrick also regularly provides seminars through Strafford, the CPA Academy, and numerous other organizations. Patrick obtained his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University Law School, and his LL.M. from New York University School of Law. He was named a SuperLawyers Rising Star for 2016–2018, and Estate Planning Attorney of the Year—USA by Finance Monthly (a United Kingdom publication) in both 2017 and 2018. He may be contacted at pmccormick@culhanemeadows.com. Patrick contributed Chapter 7: Pre-Immigration Planning Options and Considerations for Nonresident Aliens.

Benjamin S Terner, Esq. LL.M., is the President of The Einstein Group. The Einstein Group is comprised of professionals with expertise in insurance & risk transfer, capital structures, private equity and financial services.  Einstein is on the forefront of emerging risks and placement of non-traditional risk with many years of underwriting and significant premiums written, Mr. Terner may be contacted at clients@einsteinfs.com.

Kim Donovan Uskovich, Esq. is a partner in the Estate Planning, Probate and Non-Profit section of Kelly Hart.  Her practice focuses on creating and implementing estate plans for individuals including estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning. Ms. Uskovich has experience customizing complex estate plans to meet the needs of individual clients, including defensive structures designed to protect clients’ assets from unjustified claims of creditors, business associates, and claims in divorce.  Ms. Uskovich also assists clients in all phases of trust, probate and heirship administrations and has a wide range of experience in the transfer of complex assets.  She may be contacted at kim.uskovich@kellyhart.com.  Her contribution includes chapter 6: Asset  Protection Planning.

James P. Weller, JD, LLM, is President of Greenway Capital Advisors, LLC (“Greenway”) in Houston and Las Vegas.  Greenway provides trust administrative services to private trust companies, individual trustees, and family entities.  Jim has written numerous tax and estate planning articles for The ACTEC Journal, Leimberg Information Services, The Journal of Practical Estate Planning, The Journal of Financial Planning, and The Michigan Bar Journal.  His book titled “Tax-Smart Wealth Planning” was published in 2006.  Jim has over 40 years of experience in the trust and estate planning industry, and he is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. He may be contacted at  jweller@gctrust.com. His contribution includes chapter 31.