Practice Areas

Practice Areas

Baird, Crews, Schiller & Whitaker, P.C. (BCSW) practices in a wide spectrum of business and estate planning, transaction and litigation matters.
Please click on the links below for more information about the services BCSW provides.

Powers of Attorney, Medical Powers of Attorney and Directives to Physician

Basic documents to manage a person’s assets, business affairs, health and well-being during lifetime.


Wills

Documents to manage and transfer a person’s assets at death.


Estate Planning

Comprehensive, coordinated planning of one’s assets, taking into consideration gift taxes, estate taxes, generation-skipping taxes, business income taxes, and personal income taxes and the overall desires of a person in the ultimate disposition of assets, either during lifetime or at death, as well as creditor protection and asset preservation in the overall desires.


Multi-Generational Planning

Coordinated estate planning of two or more generations, paying particular attention to reducing overall taxes to all family members and to ensure that the proper family member is responsible for the management of the family assets or family business and that all family members benefit in the manner desired.


Charitable Planning

The use of charitable gifting techniques to reduce income taxes, gift taxes, estate taxes and generation-skipping taxes while benefiting a designated charitable organization.


Charitable Foundations

The creation and operation of charitable organizations that promote religious, social or educational objectives in a tax-advantageous manner, often in coordination with charitable planning.


Gifting

The migration of wealth and benefits to children, grandchildren and other individuals for educational and personal objectives while minimizing gift taxes, estate taxes and other taxes.


Wealth Migration

Sophisticated estate planning and tools to migrate wealth to future generations while benefiting the current generation with available legal protection.


Life Insurance Planning

The use of life insurance in buy-sell planning in the business context, estate tax avoidance planning and wealth building to provide for the needs of loved ones.


Retirement Planning

The coordinated planning of retirement assets in conjunction with a sophisticated estate plan to meet the present needs of the current generation and to maximize the future benefits to be received by the junior generation.


Living Trusts

A technique used in the conjunction with an overall estate plan that provides management of a person’s assets during his lifetime that can help avoid the need for a future guardianship and the need for the probate of that person’s estate.


Irrevocable Trusts

Sophisticated tools to facilitate education planning for children and grandchildren, wealth migration, life insurance planning and a host of other sophisticated estate planning objectives.


Estate Tax Returns

The preparation of Federal and State tax returns required to be filed in conjunction with a decedent’s estate.


Gift Tax Returns

The preparation of Federal tax returns required in conjunction with gift planning.


Asset/Creditor Protection

The arrangement or migration of a person’s assets in a manner that takes advantage of State and Federal exemptions that prevent or limit a creditor / ex-spouse from confiscating a person’s assets.


Probate

The administration of a person’s estate by filing a person’s will in a manner required by law to pay bills, coordinate required tax returns, marshal assets, and ultimately transfer assets to decedent’s designated beneficiaries.


Guardianship

The litigation of disputes regarding wills, accountings, contested guardianship hearings, and fiduciary responsibility.


Probate and Guardianship Litigation

The litigation of disputes regarding wills, accountings, contested guardianship hearings, and fiduciary responsibility.

Business Succession Planning

The efficient formation, operation, management, and transfer of management now and in the future of various business entities, with emphasis on tax savings and harmonious family relations in family businesses.


Asset Preservation/Creditor Protection

The structure, management, and operation of business and personal assets to minimize their exposure to liabilities and attachment by creditors.


Outside General Counsel

Serve as legal counsel to companies by assisting with various legal issues that companies encounter and coordinate the assistance of specialized attorneys, if necessary.


Limited Partnerships

The most flexible, tax-favorable business entity that can be formed in Texas to own or develop real estate, to own and operate retail and commercial business operations, and to use as a tool in sophisticated estate plans while providing pass-through income tax treatment and limited liability for its limited partners.


Limited Liability Companies

Flexible business entities that provide pass-through income tax treatment and limited liability protection for owners and can be used to operate and manage a variety of business activities.


Corporations

Business entities that provide limited liability protection to owners and that may or may not provide pass-through income tax treatment for the business activities of the corporation to the owners. A corporation can be used to operate and manage a variety of business activities.


General Partnerships

A flexible, informal business structure that provides pass-through income tax treatment to its owners but does not provide limited liability protection to its owners.


Buy/Sell Planning

The process by which the ownership interest in a business entity can be limited to a select group of owners to ensure the successful continued operation of a business entity in the event of death, retirement, or termination of
employment.


Business Tax Planning

The planning, structuring, and operation of businesses in a manner that minimizes income taxes and franchise taxes.


Buying and Selling of Businesses

Structuring, document drafting, and implementation necessary to buy or sell a business or the assets of a business in the most tax-advantageous manner while still achieving the personal goals of the buyer and seller.


Employment Contracts

The planning, structuring, and operation of businesses in a manner that minimizes income taxes and franchise taxes.


Retirement, Health, Group Life & Disability for Businesses

The coordination, planning, development, implementation, and advisability of retirement plans, group health plans, group life plans, and disability plans for businesses.


Raising Capital

Assistance with the proper structure to raise capital, including private placement and public offerings.


Business Ventures

Optimization of strategies for structuring business ventures.


Real Estate Development

Structuring, drafting of documents, and implementation of necessary steps to develop residential subdivisions, apartment complexes, self-storage units, commercial and retail projects, and residential housing units.


Property Owners’ Associations

The formation, operation, and maintenance of homeowners’ associations for residential and commercial developments.


Real Estate Document Preparation

The drafting and review of documents necessary to purchase residential, commercial, and farm and ranch properties as well as the loan documentation necessary to secure mortgage financing or refinancing or any of the foregoing.


Like-kind Exchanges / 1031 Exchanges

The structuring, drafting of documents and implementation of necessary steps to assure that a transaction qualifies under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. Under this Section (26 U.S.C. § 1031), the exchange of certain types of property may defer the recognition of capital gains or losses due upon sale and, hence, defer any capital gains taxes otherwise due. The properties exchanged must be held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment and must be “like-kind”, i.e., of the same nature or character, even if they differ in grade or quality.


Foreclosures

The process by which properties are repossessed when a borrower fails to make required payments or meet other requirements under the loan documents.


Mortgage Lending Negotiation

The negotiation and drafting of mortgage loan documents necessary for a borrower to receive loan funding from a financial institution or an individual.


Earnest Money Contracts

The drafting and review of real estate contracts to purchase or sell residential, commercial, and farm and ranch properties.


Owner-Finance Transactions

The drafting and implementation of the necessary documents for an individual or business entity to sell its property or assets to a third party and carry the note.


Sales of Personal Property

The drafting and review of documents necessary for the sale and transfer for personal property.


Commercial and Residential Leases

The drafting and enforcement of leases for commercial and residential purposes.


Title Examinations and Curative Matters

Review of title commitments, title policies, and other legal documents to ascertain the correct title ownership of real property and the drafting and implementation of curative matters affecting that real property to remove any clouds or hindrances on title that would prevent its sale to a third party.


Condemnation

Representing landowners whose property is targeted for acquisition by city, county, and state governments to ensure that the landowner receives a fair and adequate price when the property is acquired by the government entity.


Real Estate Litigation

The litigation of title, boundary lines, restrictions, and easement issues.

Commercial Litigation

Litigation of business ownership and valuation issues, contract disputes, employee matters, conflicts with third-parties, construction disputes, and collection matters.


Real Estate Litigation

The litigation of title, boundary lines, restrictions, and easement issues.


Personal Injury, Consumer & Professional Liability Claims Litigation

Litigation of personal injury claim and damages, and consumer and professional liability claims and damages.


Probate & Guardianship Litigation

The litigation of disputes regarding wills, accountings, contested guardianship hearings, and fiduciary responsibility.


Contract Litigation

Represent clients who are involved in disputes over contracts, including enforcement or claims for damages resulting from breaches of such contracts. Contract litigation also may involve seeking a Court to declare the rights of the parties to a particular agreement.


Local Counsel

Provide assistance with litigation pending in this jurisdiction to attorneys from outside Bell County.