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Texas Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys

Establishing Legacies. Honoring Intent.

Wealth, property and family enterprises aren’t just assets. They’re intentional legacies built on years of sacrifice and vision. Our estate attorneys work to protect that intent with clarity and strength.

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Experience & Innovation

Sprouse Shrader Smith’s estate planning and probate attorneys have more than a century of combined experience. The practice boasts two Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and three attorneys who are Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Wealth & Estate Planning

Regardless of what or how much you own, our estate lawyers can help develop an estate plan that best meets your needs and wishes.

We accomplish this by meeting with you to understand your situation and intentions, keeping current on changes in federal and state laws, and drafting the instruments necessary to implement the plan.

We work cooperatively with your accountant, financial planner, and all of your other trusted professional advisors.

Lifetime Estate Planning

  • Simple & tax-planned wills
  • Revocable & irrevocable trusts
  • Gifting programs
  • Financial & medical powers of attorney
  • Directives to physicians
  • Federal gift tax returns

Business Planning

  • Family limited partnerships, LLCs & other business entities
  • Succession planning for owners of closely held businesses

Domestic Agreements

  • Pre- and post-marital agreements
  • Cohabitation agreements

Charitable Planning

  • Gifts to charities
  • Family foundations
  • Charitable remainder & charitable lead trusts
  • Forming & maintaining nonprofit organizations

Other Complex Planning Devices

  • Conservation easements
  • Grantor & non-grantor trusts
  • Education trusts
  • Residential trusts
  • Dynasty trusts
  • Private annuities
  • Life insurance trusts

Estate Administration

Sprouse estate attorneys represent executors, trustees, beneficiaries and heirs in connection with the administration of estates and trusts, including litigation of contested matters.

No matter the size or complexity of the estate, we can handle all legal matters related to its administration.

Estate & Trust Administration

  • Probate of will & appointment of executor or administrator (independent or dependent administration)
  • Ancillary probate of foreign wills
  • Heirship proceedings
  • Creditor claims
  • Inventories & accountings
  • Federal estate & generation-skipping transfer tax returns
  • Estate distribution & settlement
  • Family settlement agreements
  • Representation of executors & administrators before the IRS
  • Representation of trustees & beneficiaries in connection with funding, administering, modifying & terminating trusts
  • Consultation with attorneys, accountants & other professionals

Probate Law & Fiduciary Disputes

Protecting the intent of those who create legacies is more than a legal matter. It’s a moral obligation.

Our role as probate attorneys is to defend the integrity of those intentions and ensure that fiduciaries uphold the duties entrusted to them. Whether through negotiation, mediation, or trial, our mission is to protect the client’s rights and the legacy left behind.

Courtroom Strength & Probate Insight

With deep experience in Texas probate and district courts across the state, our attorneys handle matters ranging from simple will contests to multimillion-dollar trust disputes.

Litigation involving trusts and estates has unique rules, procedures, and issues that do not exist in “normal” litigation. In any case involving trusts and estates, it is crucial to hire a probate lawyer with substantial experience litigating trust and estate issues.

We know the procedural traps, statutory requirements, and local practices that govern these cases, and we pair that knowledge with the trial skills needed to succeed when settlement isn’t an option.

Probate Law Focus Areas

  • Will contests
  • Trust litigation & contested trust matters
  • Estate administration disputes
  • Breach of fiduciary duty claims
  • Removal of fiduciaries & recovery of misappropriated assets
  • Disputes involving complex estate plans, family partnerships & business succession
  • Probate appeals

Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys

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J. Shane Brooks

Member
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Shyla R. Buckner

Of Counsel
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Beau A. Cross

Of Counsel
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Madyson D. Edwards

Associate
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Andrew R. Evans

Member
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Mason J. Harlan

Associate
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J.F. “Jack” Howell III

Member
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Christopher D. Jones

Member
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Kelsey Matchen

Associate
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Donna Z. Peck

Member
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Suzannah Snider

Of Counsel
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J.B. Vincent

Associate

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