Hallett & Perrin is pleased to welcome Catherine Bright Haws to the firm as of counsel in the firm’s trusts & estates and tax practices. Ms. Haws is Board Certified in Estate Planning & Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a unique distinction earned by fewer than 700 Texas attorneys.
“Clients can rest assured that they’re in capable hands with Catherine and her breadth of experience,” said firm president and managing shareholder Leland C. de la Garza. “She takes a holistic approach to estate planning so that no stone is unturned when it comes to taking care of your family and establishing your legacy.”
Ms. Haws primarily represents clients in complex situations, helping them optimize lifetime and post-death transfers of wealth in a tax-efficient manner, while understanding that the tax impacts of such decisions are rarely the primary consideration.
Ms. Haws helps clients with succession planning for their closely held businesses, asset distribution in blended family situations, planning for a potential incapacity, and asset protection planning, keeping in mind the importance of control in those situations. She also handles probate matters, judicial and non-judicial trust modifications, gift and estate tax returns, and marital property agreements. Ms. Haws also advises clients regarding the administration of family partnerships, LLCs, estates, trusts, and private foundations.
She is also particularly experienced with certain tax-oriented trusts, such as gift trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, and insurance trusts, among others, which can help clients achieve their estate planning goals.
Ms. Haws is a 2001 graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law, and a 1997 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned her B.A. in economics and business.
