Estate Planning
Protecting your legacy and your loved ones
Effective estate planning is about more than determining who receives your assets. It is about protecting what you have built, preserving control during your lifetime, providing for the people and organizations that matter to you, and establishing a clear plan for the management and transfer of your assets when the time comes. Burris Law Firm works with individuals, families, business owners, and investors to develop estate plans tailored to their assets, relationships, and long-term objectives.
Our approach is practical and individualized. We take the time to understand not simply what our clients own, but what they want their estate plan to accomplish. The result is a carefully structured plan designed for the client's circumstances today while providing the flexibility to adapt as families, businesses, assets, and priorities change.
Comprehensive Estate Planning
No two families, businesses, or estates are exactly alike, and an effective estate plan should reflect more than a standard set of documents. We begin by understanding our client's assets, family circumstances, business interests, and long-term objectives, and then develop a plan designed around those considerations.
Whether establishing an estate plan for the first time or reviewing an existing plan after significant changes in family, assets, or circumstances, we help clients understand their options and put the appropriate legal structure in place.
Our estate planning services include:
- Wills and testamentary planning
- Revocable living trusts
- Irrevocable trusts
- Powers of attorney
- Healthcare powers of attorney and advance directives
- Beneficiary designation planning
- Guardianship nominations for minor children
- Asset protection planning
- Business succession planning
- Planning for the transfer of real estate and investment assets
We also review how assets are titled and how beneficiary designations interact with the overall estate plan. A well-drafted trust or will is only effective when the client's assets and ownership arrangements are properly coordinated with it.
Planning for Business Owners and Investors
Estate planning becomes more complex when an estate includes closely held businesses, LLC interests, investment real estate, or other significant assets. In those circumstances, an effective plan must address not only who ultimately receives those assets, but how they will be owned, managed, controlled, and transferred.
Burris Law Firm's business and real estate experience allows us to approach these issues from a broader perspective. We help clients coordinate their estate plans with operating agreements, ownership structures, succession arrangements, real estate holdings, and other business interests so that the various components of the plan work together.
For business owners, succession planning may involve preparing for the transfer of ownership to family members, partners, key employees, or third-party purchasers while addressing management and control during the transition. For investors and property owners, planning may involve coordinating trusts, LLC interests, beneficiary arrangements, and property ownership to facilitate an orderly transfer of assets.
Our objective is to create a plan that protects both the value of what the client has built and the client's intentions for its future.
Estate Administration & Probate
Our representation does not necessarily end when an estate plan is completed. Burris Law Firm also assists personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries, and families with the administration of estates and trusts after a death.
We guide clients through probate proceedings, trust administration, the identification and transfer of assets, creditor matters, distributions to beneficiaries, and other issues that arise during the administration process. When an estate includes business interests, real estate, or other complex assets, our experience in those areas allows us to address the underlying assets as well as the probate or trust issues surrounding them.
When disagreements arise among beneficiaries, trustees, personal representatives, or other interested parties, we can also draw upon our civil litigation experience to address contested estate and trust matters.
Plan With Confidence
A well-designed estate plan provides more than a set of legal documents. It provides clarity about how your affairs will be managed, confidence that the people and assets important to you are protected, and a framework for carrying out your intentions when circumstances change or the unexpected occurs.
At Burris Law Firm, we approach estate planning as an ongoing part of protecting what our clients have built. Whether you are creating a plan for the first time, updating an existing plan, addressing business or real estate interests, or planning for the next generation, we provide experienced counsel tailored to your circumstances and objectives.
If you are ready to establish or review your estate plan, we invite you to contact us today.