Wills, Trusts & Estates

We assist clients in preparing and executing Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and related documents. We additionally assist clients in probating the estates of family members who die, and in obtaining guardianships over incapacitated adults and minor children who need a guardian.

• Credit Unions

• Estate Taxes & Gift Taxes
• Power of Attorney
• Tax Planning

• Charitable Giving
• Charitable Trusts
• Drafting Trusts
• Drafting Wills
• Estate Administration
• Estate Planning
• Living Trusts
• Living Wills
• Probate

TX, Nov 1997
Bar Number: 24002101

Ad Litem, Probate Court in Texas

Texas

Texas State Bar
Dallas Bar Association
Dallas Bar Association, Probate Section
Houston Bar Association
Houston Bar Association, Probate, Trust and Estate Section
Houston Bar Association, Law Practice Management Section
American Bar Association
American Bar Association, Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section

I am required to obtain 15 hours a year of continuing education. Additionally, I am asked to speak at multiple continuing education courses a year as an expert in the areas of estate planning, probate and guardianships.

Navigating Businesses through the Claims Procedure in Probate Court, Corporate Counsel Review, Journal Published by the South Texas College of Law, Spring 2005 anticipated publication.
Who's in Charge? A Continuing legal education paper written and presented as part of the course Oddities and Challenges in Texas Probate. November 16, 2004.
Miscellaneous Odd Issues in Probate. A continuing legal education paper written and presented as part of the course Oddities and Challenges in Texas Probate. November 16, 2004.
The Continued Debate Over Family Limited Partnerships, The Houston Lawyer Magazine, September/October, 2002
Estate Tax Repeal: Miracle of Myth?, The Houston Chronicle, August 31, 2001
Professionalism, The Houston Lawyer Magazine, Guest Editor, January/February, 2002
The Debate Over Judicial Selection, The Houston Lawyer Magazine, Guest Editor, March/April, 2003

Our firm is specialized in the type of cases that we handle. We only handle probate and guardianship cases and litigation arising out of these types of cases. Additionally, we assist clients with preparing and executing their Estate Planning documents (i.e. Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, etc.).

5

Texas

At Ford & Mathiason LLP, we focus on providing practical solutions tailored to the individual needs of our clients. Generally speaking, our practice is limited to estate and business planning, probate, guardianships of minors and adults, and litigation arising out of probate and guardianship cases.

More specifically, our lawyers strive to assist you in identifying and achieving your business and estate planning needs, with related advice regarding the variety of tax issues that may face a client, whether related to their business, estate, or personal tax matters. Additionally, we guide clients through the difficult processes of probate and guardianships. Likewise, we assist you in tackling the challenging issues involved when a lawsuit arises out of a probate or guardianship case.

Because our practice is devoted exclusively to estate and probate matters, we have the knowledge and experience in these areas to assist you with everything from simple wills to complex business and estate planning, and with the litigation of estate and probate disputes. Because our probate and estate planning practices are so comprehensive, we are able to form a relationship with you to address your changing business and estate planning needs. We do not view our relationships with our clients as one-time transactions. We are here to assist you as your family, business, and property grows and changes. Our goal is to be constantly vigilant to insure that you are getting the maximum benefit from our services.

Whether you need an estate planning attorney or an estate administration lawyer; whether you are drafting a will, navigating a relative's estate through probate, establishing a guardianship for an aging parent, or you are involved in a dispute that is headed for litigation; working with us means always having talented and skilled lawyers who know you, and more importantly whom you know and trust to work for you.

I was previously employed as a tax attorney for KPMG, which is one of the world's largest accounting firms.

I am active in several professional associations, which include memberships and leadership positions in the following:

Fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation
Board of Trustees of the Houston Lawyer Referral Service (since 2001)

Member of the Editorial Board of The Houston Lawyer magazine (since 2000)

Faculty and Planning Committee for Oddities and Challenges in Texas Probate, November 2004

Member, Disability and Elder Law Attorneys Association (since 1999)

Board Member, The Joshua Foundation

Certified Ad Litem attorney (certified to serve as either Attorney ad litem or Guardian ad litem in any Probate Court in Texas)

Houston and Dallas Bar Associations

Debbie

(713) 260-3903

Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

No

None

Dallas, TX
100 Crescent Court
Suite 700
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 389-0887

We charge a flat-fee for all of our estate planning work. The fee varies depending on the type of work we are doing and the complexity of any tax issues involved.

Hourly rates for the attorneys in our firm range from $125/hour to $250/hour depending on the level of experience of the particular attorney.

We generally do not offer a free consultation. However, we will typically talk with a prospective client at length on the telephone prior to them making an appointment to come into our office. We do not want to waste the client's time in coming to our office unless we know for sure that it's a case that on which we can provide some assistance.

We generally do not charge a retainer for our estate planning work. However, retainers in our probate and guardianship cases will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the work.