Dallas Bar Association

Probate, Trusts & Estates Section

Concentrates activities in three areas: 1) providing continuing legal education for members; 2) promoting good working relationships among the probate bar and three Dallas County statutory probate courts; and 3) serving the needs of the public in the area of wills, guardianships, probate matters, and probate court dispute resolution on a pro bono basis.

Probate Practice Manual:

The Section sells an updated Probate Practice Manual.  The manual is available in electronic ($45) or hard copy ($70) versions.  However, free manuals are available to any attorney who agrees to accept a Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) case.  The Section donates $25 from each manual to DVAP.  To order a manual, please complete the form and send, along with payment, to Dani Smith, Treasurer.  Scroll down to the file attachments for the order form.

 

Meeting Schedule:

This Section meets at noon on the 4th Tuesday of every month. No meeting is scheduled in December.

The program schedule for our 2012-2013 section meetings is a follows:

SECTION MEETING DATES,

TIME AND LOCATION

SPEAKER AND TOPIC

Tuesday,

September 25, 2012
12:00 Noon- Belo

The Honorable John F. Warren, Dallas County Clerk

Paperless Process in Dallas County Probate Courts

Tuesday,

October 23, 2012

12:00 Noon- Belo

Judges Panel

Dallas County Probate Judges

Tuesday,

November 27, 2012

12:00 Noon- Belo

Norm Lofgren, Will Repatoe

Drafting, Attacking and Defending Pre and Post Marital Agreements

Tuesday,

January 22, 2013

12:00 Noon- Belo

Ed Smith, Justice Lang, Rust Reid

Ethics Panel

Ethical Issues in Multigenerational Planning

Tuesday,

February 26, 2013

12:00 Noon- Belo

 Nathan Griffin

Creditors Claims

Tuesday,

March 26, 2013

12:00 Noon- Belo

 Phil Lindquist

Tax Law Update

Tuesday,

April 23, 2013

12:00 Noon- Belo

 Toby Eisenberg

Trust Modification and Decanting

Tuesday,

May 28, 2013

12:00 Noon- Belo

Prof. Gerry Beyer

 Texas Case Law Update

Section News:

PROBATE SECTION - TRUSTS & ESTATES MAGAZINE DISCOUNT

DBA Members receive 28% off the regular $275 rate for an annual subscription to Trusts & Estates Magazine. Subscribe for just $199 by using this link Subscription includes hard copies of the monthly periodical, two annual supplements of the Texas Year in Review and Charitable Giving , a yearly Wealth Management Resource Guide, at least three e-newsletters, unlimited access to the website’s premium content, Wealth Watch (posted bimonthly) and Technology Review (posted monthly). To find out more, click here.

NEW - DALLAS COUNTY PROBATE COURTS INFORMATION

Please see the Probate Section downloads for two new items from the Probate Courts. The first contains new fees and copy procedures. The second contains information concerning required changes to muniment of title pleadings.

DALLAS VOLUNTEER ATTORNEY PROGRAM

WILLS INTAKE CLINIC

The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) is requesting DBA Probate, Trust & Estate Section members to volunteer to conduct intake interviews once a month at a Wills Intake Clinic site operated by DVAP and the Dallas Area Agency on Aging. Clinics are usually scheduled the second Wednesday of the month (10 a.m. to 12 noon.). Other Wills Intake Clinics with other groups and organizations are also scheduled throughout the year.***By emailing Jigna Vyas Gosal at gosalj@lanwt.org with your Name, Address, and Telephone Number, you will be notified by DVAP each time a Wills Intake Clinic is scheduled. Please note that we handle only intake applications at the Wills Intake Clinics; we do not draft the Wills. Your commitment of 1-2 hours sharing your skills and expertise in probate law, or serving as an intake clinic lawyer in general will be greatly appreciated and remembered. Please sign up to help!

PROBATE SECTION MENTORS

The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) is requesting experienced mentors in Probate, Trusts, & Estate Planning matters to participate in the staffing of probate cases. Every other Monday afternoon usually at around 1:30 p.m., DVAP reviews several probate cases for referral to and placement with a pro bono lawyer. Probate Mentors will hear only probate law cases during the staffing, and may be asked to read a Will or other relevant documents. You will be contacted regarding a date based on the information you provide. ***Please email Miriam Caporal at caporalm@lanwt.org with your Name, Telephone Number, and available Mondays (no holidays) by indicating the Month and Day. Your commitment of 1-2 hours sharing your expertise in probate law will be greatly appreciated and remembered. Please sign up to help!


Section Officers:

Name: Larry A. Flournoy, Jr.
Officer Position: Chair
Firm: Jordan, Houser & Flournoy, LLP
Firm Address: 10000 N. Central Expressway, Suite 800
Firm City, State, Zip: Dallas, TX 75231
Business Phone: 214-369-0361
Email:  lflournoy@jhflegal.com

Name: Dani D. Smith
Officer Position: Vice Chair
Firm: Strasburger & Price, LLP
Firm Address: 2801 Network Blvd., Suite 600
Firm City, State, Zip: Frisco, TX 75034
Business Phone: 469-287-3918
Email:  dani.smith@strasburger.com

Name: Jack Wilburn
Officer Position: Secretary/Treasurer
Firm: David Jackson Wilburn II
Firm Address: 2340 E. Trinity Mills Road, Ste. 300
Firm City, State, Zip: Carrollton, TX 75006
Business Phone: 972-478-4375
Email:  jack@jackwilburn.com

Name: Jack Wilburn
Officer Position: Program Chair
Firm: Calloway, Norris, Burdette & Weber, PLLC
Firm Address: 3811 Turtle Creek Blvd., Ste. 400
Firm City, State, Zip: Dallas, TX 75219
Business Phone: 214-521-1520
Email:  sdweber@cnbwlaw.com

Name: Fred Hartnett
Officer Position: Immediate Past Chair
Firm: The Hartnett Firm
Firm Address: 2920 N. Pearl Street
Firm City, State, Zip: Dallas, TX 75201
Business Phone: 214-742-4655
Email:  fred@hatrnettlawfirm.com

Name: Laura Benitez Geisler
Officer Position: DBA Board Advisor
Firm: Geisler Law Firm
Firm Address: 3811 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite 1400
Firm City, State, Zip: Dalals, TX 75219
Business Phone: 9214-651-4200
Email: laura.geisler@lbglawfirm.com


Resource Links

 

 


Section Membership

 

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Probate, Trusts & Estates Section, please send a letter of request and a $25.00 membership fee to:
DBA
2101 Ross Ave
Dallas TX, 75201
Please note that you must be a member of the Dallas Bar Association to join a section. If you have any questions regarding sections membership, please contact the membership department at the Dallas Bar.

Section Admin-Mass E-mail/Roster

Section Admin-Webpage


 

Section Downloads:

AttachmentSize
Bylaws.pdf4.18 MB
Dallas County Probate Courts NEW Fees and Copy Procedures.pdf205.45 KB
Dallas County Probate Courts NEW Muniment of Title Provisions.pdf96.07 KB
dds-946-v2-probate_manual_order_form.doc42.5 KB
doctor-physicians_certificate_of_medical_examination.pdf250.64 KB
civil_case_information_sheet.pdf98.69 KB
probate_bonding_companys.pdf29.54 KB
04222013_guidelines_for_court_approval_of_attorney_fee_applications.pdf430.37 KB
attorney_fee_affidavit.pdf10.82 KB
guardianship_paper.pdf808.08 KB
ashby-who_are_your_people_descent_and_distribution2.pdf246.87 KB
wolfish_descendants-speech.pdf39.01 KB
professor_johanson-recent_developments_affecting_estate_planning.pdf176.85 KB
keith_staubus-will_contests.pdf3.09 MB
debbie_cox-what_it_means_to_be_a_fiduciary.pdf173.87 KB
james_h._wallenstein-disciplinary_rules.pdf281.16 KB
docs-264757-v1-dallas_bar_association_probate_trusts_and_estate_section.doc272 KB
to_probate_or_not_to_probate___mineral_interests_in_estate_planning__probate.pdf1.64 MB
top_ten_mistakes_of_estate_planners.doc70 KB
2012-01-04_dallas_bar_article_january_24_2012_00313276.pdf907.3 KB
sp-3923501-v1-akers___transfer_planning_in_2012_and_beyond.pdf565.21 KB
Professor Stanley Johanson: Recent Developments in Estate Planning251.5 KB
sp-4028442-v1-professor_beyer___texas_case_law_update.pdf84.72 KB
ad_litem_order_to_pay_from_registry.doc30.5 KB
dallas_county_probate_records_power_point_09252012.pdf2.18 MB
probate_courts_dms-memo.pdf186.1 KB
requests_of_attorneys_for_paper_on_demand.doc25.5 KB
creating_attacking_and_defending_pre-marital_and_post-marital_agreements_11272012.docx_.pdf397.85 KB
guidelines_for_court_approval_of_attorney_fee_petitions_9252012.pdf477.7 KB
administrative_orders.pdf1.24 MB
intergenerational_conflicts_of_interest_with_rule_attached.pdf4.03 MB
dallas_county_real_property_records_access.pdf152.23 KB
nkg_speech_20130221094034.pdf1.19 MB
2013_honorable_nikki_deshazo_pro_bono_award-nomination_form.doc.pdf13.41 KB
phil_lindquist_2013_tax_law_update.pdf405.12 KB
2013_lifetime_achievement_award_nomination_form.pdf6.44 KB
uncontested_trust_modifications.pdf295.87 KB
supporting_attorney_fee_affidavit.pdf7.3 KB
dallas_2013_case_update_--_beyer.pdf84.3 KB
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