Estate Planning Recommendations for Construction Professionals

Feb 2, 2026

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If you die without an estate plan in Texas, state law decides who gets your property, which can create delays, extra costs, and headaches for your family instead of following your wishes. Karalynn welcomes Jacques Leeds to the show to explain wills, trusts, and common employment law issues like discrimination and retaliation. Key Takeaway 1. Jacques Leeds shares insights about launching his own law firm right out of law school, emphasizing the challenges and opportunities of learning on the job, developing good habits, and carving out his own way of practicing law without being tied to traditional approaches. 2. Estate planning isn't just for the wealthy. Everyone has an estate plan, whether they make one themselves or leave it to state law. The main goal is to make life easier for loved ones after someone passes, by proactively making decisions and organizing assets. 3. Trusts offer significant advantages over wills, including avoiding probate, maintaining privacy, and providing flexibility in asset management and directives. Funding the trust properly (transferring assets into it) is crucial for it to be effective. Wills are simpler but require public probate and can lead to family disputes. 4. Wrongful termination cases in Texas must relate to discrimination or retaliation based on EEOC protected classes. Jacques Leeds's firm primarily represents employees and takes cases on contingency, highlighting how employment law is structured, what retaliation entails, and the importance of temporal proximity in claims. 5. The discussion includes nuanced employment issues like worker misclassification (1099 vs. W-2), tip pooling violations, and strong claims around workers' compensation retaliation, pregnancy, and disability. These cases are typically straightforward and have high success rates if the facts align. Learn more about The Leeds Law Firm here.