Michael Peay is a partner in the firm’s Tax, Benefits and Estate Planning Practices. He helps Texas families and individuals with sophisticated trust and estate planning, including the numerous sophisticated strategies to minimize estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer taxes. His clients range from small business owners, high level executives and retirees with (i) nontaxable estates and (ii) taxable estates of US$15-30 million to very high-net-worth individuals. Michael is a member of Foley’s Trust Investment Committee and Manufacturing Sector.

He has extensive experience with estate administration and litigation needs, including fiduciary litigation and probate, trust, and guardianship administration. He offers counsel related to controversies that involve fiduciary duties, trustees, executors, including will contests, accounting and administration issues, and prosecution and defense of fiduciary claims.

Michael’s services and strengths include:

• Estate planning (both non-taxable and taxable estates)
• Life Insurance Planning (including Split Dollar)
• Asset protection planning
• Probate and estate administration
• Trust administration services
• Guardianship administration and elder law issues
• Charitable planning
• Trust and Estate litigation and mediation
• Family business and family office
• Business entity formation
• Marital property issues (including preparation of marital property agreements)

Michael also has extensive experience in the preparation of Gift, Estate, and Trust tax returns and he represents clients in tax controversies before the Internal Revenue Service.

Passionate about his clients, their family goals, and ensuring that all parties understand the process and documentation, Michael has earned a reputation for being easy to get along with, responsive, detailed, and designing wealth management strategies that create peace of mind for his clients. He strives to provide customized legal solutions that will help individuals and families develop an estate plan that takes into consideration not only the estate and gift tax consequences, but also the family dynamics, potential will contests, and future creditor protection. He recognizes and helps families manage the drama during and after a life well lived.