Estate Planning and Probate

Our estate planning and probate practice encompasses all aspects of the administration of a decedent or fiduciary estate. Our attorneys can assist beneficiaries with estate proceedings whether the decedent passes with or without a will. Our team can also facilitate the administration of an ancillary probate if the estate was probated in another state or country. We can assist beneficiaries with administrative matters including gathering, inventorying, and valuing assets in the estate. Due to the extensive oil and gas knowledge of the firm, our attorneys can also assist in locating any unknown or unlocatable oil and gas interests of an estate.

Additionally, Elias Books attorneys provide estate planning advice to individuals and families. We utilize numerous techniques and strategies such as creating family partnerships, preparing revocable inter vivos trusts, establishing generation-skipping trusts, utilizing lifetime gift programs, leveraging probate avoidance, and incapacity planning. Elias Books attorneys regularly draft instruments such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney as part of an estate plan.

Our attorneys represent beneficiaries of estates in negotiating settlements of estates, protecting beneficiaries’ rights to monitor costs of administration, and advising in contested manners. We provide thoughtful and competent assistance with the goal of making a difficult time easier to endure.

Estate Administration Areas of Expertise