Estate Planning is a practical area of law in the sense that life is precious, and everyone’s days are numbered. It is up to each of us to be a good steward of what we have earned and what we have been given. Whitney Ellis is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has established her experience by working closely with clients in the Midland – Odessa community for the last decade. Through her expertise, she leads the Estate Planning Practice of Ellis & Hill Law, PLLC in serving clients with their estate planning needs.

 

When we serve a client at Ellis & Hill Law, PLLC who is new to estate planning or whose plan is overdue for an update, we discuss an overview of what basic estate planning documents are recommended and then customize an Estate Plan that best fits their needs. We take a holistic approach in developing a client’s Estate Plan by taking the time to understand the client’s values, their family dynamic, and the nature of their wealth.
 

Estate Planning encompasses a broad variety of services such as creating Wills, Trusts, Medical Power of Attorney documents, Declaration of Guardianship in the Event of Incapacity, and implementing lifetime gifting. Younger clients tend to first seek estate planning help when they become parents and want to ensure their minor children are provided for in the event of an unlikely tragedy. We discuss in detail a guardianship plan and the management of assets as part of this Estate Planning consideration in getting their “bread and butter” estate planning documents in place.

 

The blessing of wealth is often a double-edged sword in the sense that a client’s life can quickly become overwhelmingly complicated by virtue of a windfall or business success. For clients who have considerable wealth, we are well-equipped to guide them in being good stewards in creating and maintaining federal estate tax and gift tax planning. Estate Planning for a high- net-worth client can include anything from lifetime gifting of a percentage of a family business to marital and bypass trust planning provisions in Wills. We frequently handle substantial gifts to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs) and designing Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) as part of the process. We work hard to minimize the stress and anxiety associated with the complication of wealth by responsibly planning for generations to come.

 

To schedule a phone conference or an in-person appointment, please click here or call us at (432) 563-4141. We look forward to working with you.