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About Probate Wills and Estate Law
"I've often speculated why you don't return to America. Did you abscond with the church funds? Run off with a senator's wife? I like to think you killed a man. It's the romantic in me."
- Captain Renault, Casablanca.
In your author's grandest delusions of grandeur he imagines himself as the proprietor of Rick's Cafe in Casablanca. He looks effortlessly cool in a trench coat and is secretly running guns for the Allies. Upon seeing the lost love of his life he'll wonder, "of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."
Back in reality he will settle for being an honest, low-key, hard working attorney!
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Your author has been working on probate, wills, and estate law since graduating from Texas Tech School of Law in 2009. He has fond memories of pirate captain Mike Leach (official title: football coach) leading the Red Raiders to earn more passing yards than they had any right to against gridiron titans like Oklahoma and Texas.
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Your author's initial professional work was with John Brodnax in Lakeway, Texas. We have enormous respect for John for his commitment to doing quality work for his clients and learned real world tax accounting, probate and estate planning, and financial planning from him from 2009 through 2017.
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We switched to law firm life from Jan 2018 to Oct 2022 with TCV Law Group, also in Lakeway, Texas and worked on cases of increasing complexity and size at high volume with a great team.
We left the law firm life in Oct 2022 to start a solo law practice with the aim of doing high quality work for a smaller client base. Low and slow as the great BBQ pit masters say! We aspire to have the quality of our work product match the care and craftsmanship built into the nigh indestructible Toyota Hilux pick up truck.
If you are a motor sports fan like me, Google: "Top Gear BBC How to Kill a Toyota!"
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Jeremy Clarkson and crew try their hardest to destroy the incredibly well-built Toyota Hilux (see, e.g., crashing it into trees, drowning it in salt water) but it keeps coming back to do good work. That's a level of quality we can't help but admire.
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Professional Credentials:
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Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law (Texas)
- Certification from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS)
- Requires >3 yrs specialization, vetted references from local judges and lawyers
- No. of TX attorneys with the estate planning and probate board certification as of Oct 2022: ~630 out of ~109,000 attorneys in Texas.
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Certified Financial Planner, CFP (r)
- Helps me speak with financial planners, insurance agents, and CPAs in their language on your behalf!
- Secretly an old school Warren Buffett value style investor. Don't tell the CFP board!
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Formal Education:
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University of Texas at Austin - BBA Finance, Minor Philosophy (2006) - hook'em horns!
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Texas Tech School of Law - JD (2009) - guns up!
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Texas Tech Graduate School - Master in Personal Financial Planning (2009)