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James A. Williams

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Estate Planning, Tax & Probate

Direct Phone: 512.480.5622

Direct Fax: 512.480.5822

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Jim Williams serves as Chair of Graves Dougherty’s Estate Planning, Tax, and Probate Practice Group. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), an Academician of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, and an Elected Member of the American Law Institute. He is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Jim has special expertise in federal estate tax, gift tax and generation-skipping transfer tax planning; charitable planning, including private foundation and charitable remainder trust planning; business succession planning; life insurance planning; employee benefit plans; and international estate planning.

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PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Admitted to bar, 1965, Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit and U.S. District Court, District of Colorado; 1967, Texas.

Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Education: Texas Technological College (B.B.A., 1962); University of Texas (LL.B., with honors, 1965). Phi Delta Phi. Associate Editor, Texas Law Review, 1963-1965.

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PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; Academician, The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law; Elected member, American Law Institute; Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation.

Member: Austin Bar Association (Probate and Estate Planning Section); Colorado Bar Association; American Bar Association (Real Property Probate and Trust Law and Taxation Sections); State Bar of Texas (Chairman, Section of Taxation, 1975-1976); Texas Academy of Probate and Trust Lawyers; College of Member: Austin Bar Association (Probate and Estate Planning Section); Colorado Bar Association; American Bar Association (Real Property Probate and Trust Law and Taxation Sections); State Bar of Texas (Chairman, Section of Taxation, 1975-1976); Texas Academy of Probate and Trust Lawyers; College of the State Bar of Texas.

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AWARDS AND HONORS

Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® published by Woodward/White, Inc., Trusts and Estates, 1997 - 2010

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Publications and Presentations

  • Panelist and Moderator, State Bar of Texas, Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Course, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2004 - Pushing the Envelope - Creative Tax Planning .
  • Speaker, State Bar of Texas Charitable Giving Course, San Antonio, Texas, 2004, Charitable Pledges .
  • Speaker, The Travis County Bar Association's 15th Annual Probate & Estate Planning and Probate Seminar, 2001, Family Limited Partnerships - Valuation Issues.
  • Speaker, The Travis County Bar Association's 14th Annual Probate & Estate Planning Seminar, 2000, Advising the Client About Charitable Giving.
  • Speaker, The 18th National Conference of Retired Peace Corps Volunteers, 1995, Planning Your Retirement.
  • Speaker/Author, Austin Chapter, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, 1995, Charitable Giving Techniques.
  • Speaker/Author, Austin Area General Agents and Manager's Association program on Selected Estate Planning Topics, Austin, 1994, The Gift Tax versus The Estate Tax.
  • Speaker/Author, National Business Institute, Inc., 1991, Basic Drafting of Wills and Trusts in Texas.
  • Speaker/Author, State Bar of Texas Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course, 1983, The Use of Trusts in Estate Planning.
  • Panelist, Southwest Legal Foundation 21st Annual Institute on Wills and Probate, Dallas, 1982, Review of Existing Wills and Estate Planning Generally in Light of ERTA 1981 Changes.
  • Speaker/Author, The University of Texas Conference on Farm & Ranch Estate Planning, Austin, 1981, Intra-Family Sales -- Tax, Legal and Practical Problems.
  • Speaker/Author, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants 16th Annual Estate Planning Conference, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas, 1981, Intra-Family Sales -- Tax, Legal and Practical Problems.
  • Speaker/Author, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants 13th Annual Estate Planning Conference, Houston and Dallas, 1978, The Use of Trusts in Estate Planning.
  • Speaker, State Bar of Texas, Texas Tapes Development Program on the Tax Reform Act of 1976, Mechanics of the Transfer Tax Unified Credit.
  • Moderator/Panelist, Employee Benefits Workshop, 24th Annual Taxation Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 1976, Pension and Profit Sharing Plans.
  • Contributing Author, Texas Estate Administration, Published by The State Bar of Texas in 1975, Guardianship Proceedings.
  • Speaker/Author, Southwest Legal Foundation 14th Annual Institute on Wills and Probate, Dallas, 1975, Administration of the Estate of the Owner of an Interest in Real Estate, Speculative and Otherwise.
  • Speaker/Author, State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education Programs, Brownsville, Beaumont, Longview, 1975, The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1974.
  • Panelist, 22nd Annual Taxation Conference, The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, 1974, Estate and Gift Tax Workshop.
  • Speaker/Author, Southwest Tax & Estate Planning Seminar, Galveston, 1973, Prospects for Estate and Gift Tax Reform.
  • Speaker/Author, Texas Tech Tax Conference, Lubbock, 1973, Prospects for Estate and Gift Tax Reform.
  • Speaker/Author, The State Bar of Texas Wills and Estate Planning Institute, San Antonio, 1969, The Use of Legal Life Estates in Estate Planning.
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