Law Office of David E. Woods

About Us

I have been practicing law in Missouri for the past 30 years.

“General attorney doing small business law, probate law including wills and trusts, family law including divorce and post divorce issues, civil law suits and criminal cases and traffic issues.”

When I was in the fifth grade, my parents realized their dream of starting their own insurance business. By opening day, Mom and Dad had saved enough money to support our family and the business for the first year. In my family, it was common to split an 8 ounce soda between two people. No one ever had their own full bottle. Dad's favorite saying while I was growing up was "turn the lights off."

My parents scrimped and saved to finance their dreams. They believed in family vacations and saved money for a travel trailer and a small plot of land near their favorite fishing spot. Mom packed tuna cans and saltine crackers for us to eat on vacations rather than going out to eat at restaurants.

My parents worked hard and saved and invested. They not only paid for my brother and I to to go college but were also able to retire without financial worries. Even when Dad's cancer caused them to retire years earlier than they planned, they were financially comfortable. The scrimping and saving was over. They could afford the things they wanted and had enough to be
generous with their grandchildren.

When my wife's uncle asked me to do a trust for him, I had never written one. He had gone to a seminar and learned that a trust would allow him to pass his property to his children in the
precise way he wanted. Sure enough, when he died about six months later, the property passed immediately, just the way he had instructed, and without a family fight. No estate taxes. No
waiting for probate. No fees to a personal representative. No attorney fees. That first trust changed my life.

After writing several trusts for clients, I later wrote a trust for my parents. When my dad died, his estate did not go through probate, neither, will my mom's when the time comes. The probate fees for a $1.5 million estate in Missouri are almost $79,000.00. That's not counting the federal death
taxes. When my father died in 2006, we calculated the death tax we saved was over $47,000.00. My brother has said that I'm a hero because we will not lose any of that $127,000 when Mom dies. Both of my parents wanted to see their hard earned money go towards fulfilling the dreams of their grandchildren.

I am an estate planning attorney. I believe that hard working entrepreneurs like my parents should be able to pass as much of their money as possible to whoever they choose. I believe surviving children should not have to pay large sums of money to the government or anyone else
solely because parents die. My mission is to assist as many of these families as possible to pass their wealth with ease. I love to make parents heroes in the eyes of their children.

A GOOD REFERRAL FOR ME

Top Five Characteristics of an Entrepreneur Client: • Has at least one million dollars in business assets and five years plus in their business, • Healthy, • Passionate about their business with a history of success, • Wants to leave a legacy, • Teachable and friendly. Top Five Characteristics of a Family Estate Planning Client: 1) A married couple or a single person who is healthy, 2) Owns at least $100,000.00 in assets. 3) Has no estate planning document. 4) Is considering how to pass their property at death but is not sure how to do it. 5) Is now ready to take action. Also, a person who has a trust but never got their assets titled into the name of their trust. This means their trust is worthless and will not accomplish their estate planning goals. Also, a business owner who wants to have succession planning. EXPERIENCE YOU WANT ON YOUR SIDE!!!!!

Photos

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