Andrews Barth & Harrison, PC
8235 Douglas Avenue, Suite 1120
Dallas, Texas 75225
214-346-1184 (direct)
214-691-3070 (fax)
cbright@andrews-barth.com

Catherine Bright practiced law in the areas of estate planning and probate with Andrews Barth & Harrison for more than two years before departing the firm to practice law with two other Dallas law firms for five years.  She resumed her estate planning and probate practice with Andrews Barth & Harrison in 2010.  Catherine primarily represents high net worth individuals who need wills, trusts and incapacity documents to plan for the management and disposition of their estates, but also have more complex planning needs or desires such as planning for optimal lifetime transfers of wealth (through fundamental or advanced gift planning strategies), planning for the transfer of wealth after death in a tax-efficient manner, and succession planning for closely held businesses. She also handles probate matters and judicial trust modification proceedings, prepares gift and estate tax returns, and advises clients regarding the administration of family partnerships and LLCs, private foundations, estates and trusts.  Catherine has extensive experience with the following tax-oriented trusts, which can help clients achieve their estate planning goals:

·         Gift trusts for family members, including dynastic trusts, grantor trusts, beneficiary defective grantor trusts and spendthrift trusts

·         GRATs (grantor retained annuity trusts)

·         ILITs (individual life insurance trusts)

·         QPRTs (residence trusts)

·         QTIP (marital) trusts and credit-shelter (bypass) trusts

·         QDOTs (qualifying trusts for non-citizen spouses)

Education:

·         The University of Texas (B. A. 1997)

·         Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law (J.D. 2001)

Professional Affiliations:

·         Dallas Estate Planning Council

·         Dallas Bar Association: Probate, Trusts and Estates Section

Community Involvement:

·         Dallas Bar Association Home Project Committee (Member, Previous Co-Chair)

·         Attorneys Serving the Community (Member)

·         Health Services of North Texas, Collin County Capital Campaign Committee (Member)

Honors and Recognition:

Catherine was selected by Texas Lawyer Magazine as a "Rising Star" for 2008, an honor granted to no more than 2.5% of Texas attorneys annually.

Speeches:

Catherine has been a guest speaker on the topic of estate planning on "Law for the People," a program airing on a local Dallas radio station.

Catherine has also spoken to several groups who are interested in learning more about estate planning techniques.