Brocklebank, Derek G.

Catherine is board certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Catherine has practiced law in the areas of estate planning and probate since 2002. Her estate planning practice includes preparation of wills, powers of attorney, revocable trusts (also known as "living trusts"), irrevocable gift trusts (income taxable to the grantor, the beneficiary, or the trust), family partnerships and LLCs, private foundations and other charitable giving mechanisms. In appropriate cases, she also assists clients with planning for tax-efficient lifetime transfers of wealth (including annual exclusion gifts made outright or in trust, gifts for medical care and tuition, 529 plans, partitions, GRATs, QPRTs, and installment sales to grantor trusts). Catherine enjoys working with clients to develop viable business succession plans to facilitate the continuation of a family business enterprise for generations to come.

Her probate and post-mortem planning experience includes assisting clients with navigation of the probate and estate administration process from start to finish (e.g., obtaining letters testamentary or letters of administration, addressing creditor issues, implementing distribution of estate assets outright or in trust and retitling assets as needed, and preparation or review of federal estate and generation-skipping transfer tax returns). She also has experience supporting trial counsel in fiduciary litigation and obtaining court modification of irrevocable trust agreements.