My practice is focused on oil and gas development, estate planning, and estate and trust administration. Often there is significant overlap among these practice areas.On the oil and gas side, we assist clients with negotiating leases, pipeline easements, and a variety of surface use agreements. We also handle lease and dormant mineral litigation.On the estate planning side, we prepare everything from complicated Trust Agreements to basic Last Wills. We prepare Durable Financial Powers of Attorney and Health Care Powers of Attorney, among other instruments. We also engage in federal estate tax planning. Given the $5.45 million federal estate tax exemption, however, often the focus is probate avoidance and stepped-up income tax basis. We assist business owners and farming families with their succession planning. We also assist with complex oil and gas planning, which can include the formation of limited liability companies, transfers of mineral interests, and gifting in an effort to reduce federal estate tax liability and allow for efficient transitions from one generation to the next. After one has passed, we assist with the transfer of assets to beneficiaries, whether through a probate estate administration, trust administration, or both.