Family Law

• Divorce
• Premarital Agreement
  The purpose of a prenuptial agreement (a “prenup”) is to clarify certain items in order to prevent (or at least diminish) disputes down the road. What can a prenup do? Prenups can clearly identify the separate property assets each party brings into the marriage. Under Texas law, income earned on those assets will be community property. However, a prenup can override that law and provide that income earned on separate property assets will remain separate. Prenups can also address how to treat wages, retirement plans, debts, financial responsibilities, tax filings, homestead rights, and division of assets/spousal support upon death or divorce. These clarifications can be especially critical if either spouse comes into the marriage with children, in order to reduce the risk of later disputes between those children and a surviving stepparent. A prenup can even address non-financial issues such as child-rearing, religious upbringing, division of household responsibilities, etc.
• Guardianship
  By and large, The Blum Firm’s client base beats the life expectancy lottery. We want to help our clients enjoy a positive senior experience. Legacy planning is not just about improving the quality of life for your heirs, but also about enriching your own life experience. To that end, we engage actively in aspects of “Elder Law,” a label that didn’t exist when I started my law practice. With our Red File checklist, we encourage clients to provide instructions on their care in case of incapacity—not just where they want to live or who will be the caregivers, but also favorite foods, TV shows, colors, etc. We promote planning to avoid guardianship, encouraging the use of financial and medical powers of attorney. We also provide expertise to help protect clients from the tragic epidemic of elder financial abuse, whether from con artists, caregivers, and even family members who prey on the elderly. Our mission is to help clients improve not only the length of their days, but also the quality of those days.
• Spousal Support

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law
  I expected the presentation to be all about corporate governance and how to set up the best structure for a business enterprise. That’s not what Mitzi talked about at all. Instead, she said the solution to having a family enterprise last lies with the family culture.
• Limited Liability Companies
  Our attorneys provide comprehensive services in all areas of federal, state and local taxation. We routinely oversee corporate and partnership formations, reorganizations, acquisitions and dispositions. In addition, we advise both lenders and borrowers in sophisticated financial transactions. Our attorneys also provide counsel regarding retirement issues and sales and use tax matters. Our clients include corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, professional associations, professional corporations, business trusts, sole proprietorships, joint ventures, and individuals.

Employment Law

• Employment Contract
  Our attorneys counsel clients regarding issues involved in entity formation, including choice-of-entity analysis, preparation of governing documents for partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, professional associations, professional corporations, and joint ventures. We provide advice on the day-to-day operations for all types of business entities, and also provide advice to the owners and managers of such entities. Shareholder agreements, buy-sell agreements, sale and purchase agreements, employment agreements, not-to-compete covenants, and leases are just some of the documents that we prepare for our clients.
• Non-compete Agreement
  The story gets better. After she retired at age 95, Mrs. B found she couldn’t stand retirement. (Is anyone surprised?) Only months later, she opened a competing store across the street called Mrs. B’s Clearance and Factory Outlet and quickly grew it to Omaha’s third largest carpet store. Buffett couldn’t resist—he bought her new store within five years and merged Mrs. B’s two companies. As author Mohamed points out, Buffett “joked that he wouldn’t let Mrs. B retire again without signing a non-compete agreement.”

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization

Health Law

• Medical Malpractice
  Note that a prenup is about more than property division upon divorce; it also can protect one spouse’s assets from claims that might arise against the other spouse, such as an auto accident or a medical malpractice claim.
• Auto Accidents

Trusts and Estates

• Estate Planning
  The Blum Firm has extensive experience assisting clients in developing comprehensive estate plans to ensure that their wealth is held in a way that will maximize estate tax savings and will provide an efficient vehicle for transferring wealth to future generations. Our attorneys utilize a variety of sophisticated estate planning techniques to help clients achieve their goals, and we pride ourselves in thinking outside of the box to develop creative solutions for our clients.
• Wills
• Trusts
  8. Your Will Is a Public Document: Preserve privacy with a simple “Pourover Will” that leaves your assets to a Living Trust (which is a private document). Retitling assets into the Living Trust while you’re alive avoids probate.
• Power of Attorney
  Probate & Property magazine. It tells the story of one such young adult referred to as “S.T.,” seemingly invincible, already an accomplished professional with multiple degrees, fluent in four languages. While leaving work and walking to her car, something fell from a building and hit her in the head. The result was a “TBI”—a traumatic brain injury. Without a Power of Attorney (naming an agent to handle her financial decisions) and without a Health Care Power of Attorney (designating who speaks for her on medical decisions), S.T.’s fate was left to the courts. A court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem (a “GAL”) accepted a lawsuit settlement on her behalf, over S.T.’s objection. The trial court and appellate court sided with the GAL, but the state Supreme Court reversed, siding with S.T. It was a very messy and expensive fight.
• Probate
  Most special about us is our people. We hire the best and brightest and then train them to become the nation’s top advisors. The depth of our team insures that we will be here for you now and we will be here for your family in the future. Our attorneys have distinguished themselves through expertise, knowledge, and service to our clients. Each member of our team is carefully selected based on strong academic credentials and technical skills. Our team includes attorneys who are Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law, Board Certified in Tax Law, Certified Public Accountants, a National Registered Guardian, a Certified Mediator, and Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Read more about our team here.

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  We take a team approach and work together with our clients to design creative and customized plans to accomplish our clients’ goals. We take pride in providing sophisticated tax planning and strive to stay apprised of new tax developments, enabling us to assist our clients in each of our practice areas. The combined expertise of our attorneys enables the firm to stay on the cutting edge of new developments and take a proactive approach to tax planning. After all, success is in the planning.