St. Louis Estate Planning Attorney

In St. Louis, our dedicated estate planning attorneys at Bruntrager & Billings provide comprehensive, personalized legal services to safeguard your assets and ensure your wishes are upheld. Whether you need assistance with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, or other estate planning St. Louis families rely on, our experienced team will guide you through every step. Estate planning is essential for everyone, regardless of wealth, since it allows you to protect your family and distribute your assets according to your wishes.

Why Choose Our Estate Planning Attorneys in St. Louis

Choosing the right estate planning attorney is crucial for securing your family’s future. As estate planning attorneys St. Louis families have relied on for decades, and as estate planning lawyers St. Louis, Missouri residents recommend to friends and colleagues, here is why our team stands out.

Decades of Experience

As estate planning attorneys St. Louis clients have trusted for decades, our team stays current on Missouri statutes and regulations so we can provide effective, up-to-date legal advice, and our depth of experience allows us to handle even complex estates with confidence.

Personalized Service

Every client’s situation is unique. As an estate planning lawyer St. Louis clients trust with sensitive family matters, we work closely with you to create a personalized estate plan that aligns with your specific goals and needs, regardless of the size of your estate. Our approach to estate planning St. Louis families count on reflects that same personal attention, whether your plan is simple or complex.

Comprehensive Planning

Our team covers every aspect of estate planning, from simple wills to complex trusts, and we ensure every detail is legally sound and defensible. Our services also include asset protection, business succession planning, and charitable giving strategies, so your estate is fully covered.

Compassionate Approach

Discussing estate planning can be emotionally challenging. Our compassionate attorneys guide you through these difficult conversations, ensuring you feel supported and understood, and we answer every question thoroughly so you leave each meeting with peace of mind.

Ongoing Support

Estate planning is a lifelong process. We provide continuous support, regularly reviewing and updating your plan as life events or legal changes occur, so your family’s security extends for generations.

Our Approach to Estate Planning

We take a meticulous and personalized approach to estate planning. Here is what you can expect when working with us.

Initial Consultation

We start with a comprehensive consultation to understand your goals, assets, family dynamics, and concerns. This allows us to tailor our services to your unique needs, reviewing your current financial situation and expectations for the future.

Detailed Planning

Our estate planning attorneys prepare the essential documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance healthcare directives, ensuring they comply with Missouri law and reflect your true wishes. We focus on every detail to create a strong, legally sound plan.

Review and Adjustments

Estate plans need to evolve as life changes. We periodically review and adjust your plan to reflect major life events such as marriage, divorce, or changes in your financial situation, and we make sure it remains current with legal developments.

Implementation and Support

We assist with the entire implementation process, including transferring assets into trusts and working closely with executors and trustees. Our estate planning attorneys remain available to answer questions and coordinate with your financial advisors so your estate plan aligns with your overall financial strategy.

Education and Empowerment

We empower our clients by providing the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. Throughout the estate planning process, we help you understand how each choice aligns with your long-term goals and values.

Areas of Estate Planning Practice

Our estate planning attorneys handle a wide range of matters to meet every client’s needs.

Wills and Trusts

For simple wills or complex trusts, a St. Louis wills attorney on our team can help you put together a solid plan to safeguard your assets and provide for those you love. Whether you need a straightforward will or want a St. Louis wills lawyer to help structure a more complex plan, we assist with: 

• Living trusts
• Testamentary trusts
• Irrevocable trusts
• Special needs trusts

Each is structured to manage and distribute your assets the way you intend.

Powers of Attorney

We help draft durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, so that financial and medical decisions are made by trusted parties if you become incapacitated. We make sure your agents understand their duties and are ready to act on your behalf when necessary.

Estate Tax Planning

Missouri does not impose its own estate or inheritance tax, but larger estates may still be subject to the federal estate tax. Using strategic planning and various tax-saving instruments, our attorneys help you minimize federal estate tax exposure while maximizing the value passed on to your heirs. Strategies we consider include lifetime gifting, charitable donations, and family limited partnerships, among others.

Probate and Estate Administration

We guide executors and administrators through the probate process, including settling debts, valuing and distributing assets, and preparing and filing the necessary court documents, to keep administration moving efficiently.

Guardianships and Conservatorships

We help establish guardianships and conservatorships through the appropriate court proceedings so that minors or incapacitated adults receive the proper care and financial oversight they need. Our attorneys work to secure arrangements that protect the best interests of your dependents.

Business Succession Planning

For business owners planning to transfer ownership when they retire or step back from active roles, our attorneys develop a succession strategy that transitions the business to family members or named successors as smoothly as possible while protecting what the owner built and reducing the risk of disputes among successors.

Charitable Planning

If you want to leave a legacy or support your community after you are gone, our attorneys can help create charitable trusts, foundations, and other giving strategies that let you support the causes that matter most to you.

Asset Protection

Shielding your assets from potential creditors and lawsuits is an essential part of estate planning. Our attorneys advise on strategies to protect your assets and build a solid financial foundation for you and your dependents.

Understanding Missouri Estate Planning Law

Missouri law sets specific requirements for the documents that make up a valid estate plan.

Requirements for a Valid Will

Under Missouri Revised Statutes Section 474.310, a person must be at least eighteen years old and of sound mind to make a valid will. Missouri Revised Statutes Section 474.320 requires the will to be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by at least two witnesses, and a will that does not meet these formalities can be challenged or denied probate.

The Missouri Uniform Trust Code

Trusts created in Missouri are governed by the Missouri Uniform Trust Code, codified beginning at Missouri Revised Statutes Section 456.1-101. The code sets out the rules for creating, modifying, and terminating a trust, as well as the duties owed by a trustee to the trust’s beneficiaries.

Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives

Financial powers of attorney in Missouri are governed by the Missouri Durable Power of Attorney Law, while authority to make medical decisions on someone’s behalf is addressed separately under Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 459. Because a power of attorney that is not drafted as durable terminates automatically upon incapacity, the exact moment a family often needs it most, these documents need to be prepared carefully to remain effective when they matter.

Guardianship and Conservatorship Proceedings

When a minor or an incapacitated adult cannot manage their own affairs, Missouri courts can appoint a guardian or conservator under Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 475. These proceedings require court supervision and periodic reporting, and an experienced attorney can help ensure the arrangement serves the best interests of the person under guardianship or conservatorship.

Federal Estate Tax Considerations

Missouri residents do not need to file a state estate tax return, since Missouri repealed its inheritance tax in 2005 and has no separate estate tax. Larger estates may still be subject to the federal estate tax, which applies to amounts exceeding the federal exemption. For families near or above that threshold, coordinating lifetime gifting, trust structures, and beneficiary designations with an estate planning attorney can meaningfully reduce future tax exposure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I die without a will in Missouri?

If you die without a valid will, Missouri’s intestate succession laws determine how your assets are distributed, typically among your closest relatives in an order set by statute. This default distribution may not reflect your actual wishes, particularly for blended families, unmarried partners, or specific bequests you would otherwise want to make.

How is a trust different from a will?

A will directs how your assets are distributed after death and generally must go through probate, while a trust can hold and manage assets during your lifetime and distribute them afterward, often without probate. Many estate plans use a combination of both to address different goals.

When should I update my estate plan?

You should review your estate plan after any major life event, such as a marriage, divorce, birth of a child, significant change in assets, or the death of a named executor, trustee, or beneficiary. Even without a major event, periodic review every few years helps ensure your plan still reflects current law and your current wishes.

Do I need a lawyer to create a power of attorney or healthcare directive?

Missouri law does not require an attorney to execute these documents, but errors in drafting or execution can render them ineffective at the exact moment they are needed. An attorney can help ensure the documents grant the authority you intend and comply with Missouri’s formal requirements.

What is probate, and can it be avoided?

Probate is the court-supervised process of validating a will, paying a decedent’s debts, and distributing the remaining assets to heirs. Certain planning tools, such as living trusts, transfer-on-death designations, and jointly held property, can allow some or all assets to pass to beneficiaries without going through probate.

Do I need estate planning if I do not have a large estate?

Yes. Estate planning is not only about minimizing taxes on large estates. It also covers who makes decisions if you become incapacitated, who cares for minor children, and how even a modest estate is distributed, all of which matter regardless of your net worth. St. Louis Missouri estate planning lawyers regularly work with families of every asset level for exactly this reason.

Consult Our St. Louis Estate Planning Team Now

At Bruntrager & Billings, we understand that estate planning is a lifelong process that evolves as your life does. As St. Louis estate planning lawyers, and as estate planning attorneys in St. Louis, MO more broadly, we invite you to contact us today online or call to schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney who can help you secure your family’s future.