Thomas Orr Barton
Tax, Estate Planning & Probate
The lawyers of our Tax, Estate Planning and Probate Group counsel and represent clients with respect to estate planning, probate, guardianship, tax-exempt organization, charitable giving, and federal and state tax matters.
Our estate planning work includes the following: planning to minimize estate, gift, and income taxes; the preparation of wills, trusts and ancillary estate planning documents, such as durable general powers of attorney, directives to physician, and medical powers of attorney; formation of business entities for tax, succession, and asset protection planning purposes; and the performance of legal services in connection with other related estate, business, and succession planning.
We counsel and represent executors, administrations, trustees, guardians, agents, and beneficiaries with respect to fiduciary law issues, and we frequently assist fiduciaries with the performance of the legal aspects of their responsibilities. We handle contested and uncontested trust and estate matters, including will contests, will construction suits, property characterization disputes, trust and estate accounting controversies, and breach of fiduciary duty litigation.
Frequently, we assist our clients in securing appointment of guardians of the person and/or estate for minors and incapacitated adults, and we also represent proposed wards in guardianship litigation. These matters often result in the creation of guardianship management trusts, and we counsel the trustees of such trusts, and guardians of the person and/or estate, to ensure that they properly fulfill their numerous fiduciary responsibilities.
Our lawyers have extensive experience with state and local tax planning and compliance for businesses and individuals. We also represent clients before the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and in the courts on audit contests and other tax controversies. In conjunction with the firm's Legislative & Government Relations Practice Group, we represent businesses and industries on tax matters before the Texas Legislature.
Members of the practice group have years of experience dealing with formation of tax-exempt organizations, issues relating to tax-exempt status, charitable contributions, unrelated business income, private inurement, director liability, and controversies with the Office of the Attorney General.
Fellow - American College of Trust & Estate Counsel
Thomas Orr Barton
McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore LLP
600 Congress Ave #2100
Austin TX 78701
Tel: 512 495-6021
Fax: 512 505-6321
E-mail tobarton@mcginnislaw.com
Practice Areas
* Tax, Estate Planning & Probate
* South Texas
Tom Barton leads our Tax, Estate Planning & Probate Practice Group. He is board certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and practices primarily in the areas of tax, estate planning, probate, and trust and estate litigation. Tom served as the firm’s managing partner from 1991 until 1997 and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in trusts and estates since 1993 and has been recognized by Texas Law & Politics in estate planning and probate as a “Texas Super Lawyer†(2003-2009).
Representative Experience
* Prepares complex wills, trusts, and related estate plan documents.
* Forms limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and other business organizations in the context of business and estate planning.
* Represents individuals, trustees, and personal representatives in federal estate and gift tax controversies.
* Forms tax-exempt trusts and nonprofit organizations in the context of tax and estate planning.
* Represents tax-exempt organizations with private inurement, unrelated business income, unrelated debt-financed income, and related issues.
* Represents trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiaries in contested and uncontested trust and estate matters, including will contests, will construction suits, property characterization disputes, and breach of fiduciary duty litigation.
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