Houston, TX Estate Planning Attorneys

The Law Offices of Kennedy & Associates

5851 San Felipe St, Suite 925
Houston, Texas 77057
USA

(713) 893-1656

(713) 783-6601

www.houstonestateplanning.com

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Law Firm Overview Free Consultation

The Law Offices of Kennedy & Associates focuses on offering legal advice and services related to probate and estate administration, estate planning, and asset protection matters. The estate planning services of the firm include matters like wills and trusts, estate tax law, real estate, and power of attorneys. Family limited partnerships and retirement plan inheritance trusts are other areas of concern.

We have decades of experience helping a wide range of clients develop estate plans that will effectively protect their assets for generations to come. We focus our practice exclusively on legal matters relating to estate planning — from drafting simple wills for families with modest estates to developing complex, multi-tiered estate distribution and asset protection plans for families and businesses with multi-million dollar asset levels.

We use our substantial legal knowledge and experience in crafting estate plans that will minimize exposure to asset protection plans and estate taxes that minimize exposure to creditors. Our law firm also offers a complete range of probate and estate administration services.

Practice Areas

Additional Practice Areas: Complex Estate Tax Planning, Gift Tax Planning, Life Insurance Trust, Living Trust, Pre-Nuptial Agreements, Family Limited Partnerships, Buy Sell Agreements, Die Without A Will

Practice Areas Description

- Estate Tax Avoidance

Wills and trusts can vary from simple wills to complex charitable remainder trusts. However, no matter what type of will or trust we create for you, we will make sure that it is an effective document that protects your interests and gives your estate the most security possible. At Kennedy & Associates we have talented probate attorneys with experience drafting highly complex wills, and our background means that we can help you. Contact us today to begin creating a plan for your future.

- Wills & Trusts

If you pass away without a will, the state will decide who gets your assets, without considering your wishes. The state will also decide how best to care for any minor or disabled children you leave behind. If you become incapacitated by an illness or injury — like dementia or Alzheimer's disease — without first creating medical and financial powers of attorney, state law will determine who is authorized to make decisions for you regarding health care and your finances.

- Complex Estate Tax Planning

Failure to create a solid and carefully crafted estate plan can have disastrous consequences for families with significant assets.
Without prudent forethought and cautious planning to minimize estate taxes, you run the risk of losing a very high percentage of your assets to the federal government upon your death. Your intended heirs may be left with bequests of a far lower value than you intended.

- Estate Tax Planning

Estate tax law is currently in a state of flux. You need to act now to protect your assets and secure long term planning for you and your estate. Our estate tax planning attorneys have years of experience in helping clients maximize their asset retention and minimize their gift tax and estate tax exposure. If you would like to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers, contact us today.

- Gift Tax Planning

A common misperception is that estate tax exposure can be minimized by transferring wealth among family members or friends — making annual or one-time gifts of cash or other assets to decrease the size of your estate and thus decrease the amount of estate tax that will have to be paid after death.

- Charitable Gifts and Charitable Trust Tax Planning

Charitable gifts are an important part of estate planning for many individuals. Most people would rather give money to a charitable organization than to the government in the form of estate taxes. Gifts to charitable organizations receive an absolute deduction from the estate tax. That is, if your estate has $10 million in taxable assets, and you give $5 million to charitable organizations upon your death, that amount will not figure into your taxable assets.

- Charitable Tax Planning

Charitable giving is often a major component of the estate plans of individuals and families with high net worth. Given the choice between giving their wealth to the government in the form of estate taxes and giving their money to a charitable organization of their choosing — most people will choose the second option.

- Life Insurance Trust

A life insurance trust is a legal instrument, a type of irrevocable trust that you establish during your lifetime to remove the life insurance payout from the gross estate. Without a life insurance trust, the beneficiary of the life insurance policy will receive only a percentage of the actual value of the death benefit, because the gross amount of the policy payout will be subject to estate taxes (for example, 45 percent in 2008).

- Living Trust

When a person dies and leaves a will, then the will's executor must take the will through the probate process before the deceased person's assets may be distributed. This process is known as probate administration. Probate can be a costly process, both in terms of financial assets and time. Not only do the probate costs charge fees, but attorneys are usually required, and their fees must be paid. If the will is contested, then the resulting litigation will take even more time and money. Probate is also a public process — wills and all the related proceedings become part of the public record once they are filed with the probate court.

- Pre-Nuptial Agreements

Prenuptial is not a dirty word; it is an essential document for both parties entering into a successful marriage. Even if you did not sign an agreement before your marriage, Kennedy & Associates can help you create an effective postnuptial agreement so that you can develop a successful estate plan. Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation to discuss marital planning options.

- Real Estate

Our real estate practice is closely connected with our estate planning and business succession practices. Many of our planning strategies involve the transfer and acquisition of real property. As a result, we have extensive experience working with clients who are buying and selling real estate. Contact us to schedule a free initial consultation.

- Financial & Health Care Power Of Attorney

A health care power of attorney is a document that appoints someone to make medical decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. A medical directive, also referred to as a living will or directive to physicians is a document that describes your wishes as to resuscitation, organ transplants, life support machines and other end-of-life measures.

- Family Limited Partnership

A family limited partnership is a form of limited partnership (LP) in which family members are the partners. The main function of most family limited partnerships is to serve as the owners of non-homestead real property, large nest-eggs (cash and accounts) and other family assets, as part of an asset protection or estate planning measure.

- IRA Inheritance Trust

Often, when an heir inherits the proceeds of an IRA or other retirement plan, they withdraw all of the funds immediately. Once they withdraw these funds, they will be liable for income taxes on the entirety of the IRA. Additionally, if an heir receives an IRA through an inheritance, the proceeds of the IRA could be lost in a divorce, or subject to creditors.

- Business Partnership Agreement

Choosing the appropriate business structure will have a significant impact on how you operate your company. If you intend to expand your business while retaining control, you may choose to set up a corporation or a limited liability company. At Kennedy & Associates, we advise clients on all types of business structures. Contact us to schedule a confidential consultation.

- Buy Sell Agreement

If you own an interest in a closely held business, especially a family business, it is critically important to get knowledgeable legal and financial advice regarding business succession strategies — if you want the business to continue after the deaths of the current partners. A buy-sell agreement should be part of any estate plan for a family that owns one or more businesses. Creating a buy-sell agreement for ownership interests in a family business provides protection — for the business owners and the business itself —in the event of major life changes such as divorce, incapacity or death.

- Die Without A Will

Too many families experience the struggle involved when a family member dies without a will. In legal terminology dying with no will is called "dying intestate." When no will exists but the deceased person had assets and potential heirs, then the process of making heirship determinations and guiding the estate through the intestate process or heirship proceedings will be slow and costly. This is especially true if the deceased person had minor children who must now be provided for.