Wills, Trusts & Estates

I prefer to take on new clients in the categories of estate planning, probate/estate administration, and business formation and transactions.

• Annuities
• Life Insurance

• Estate Taxes & Gift Taxes
• Income Taxes
• IRS Disputes
• IRS Filing & Compliance
• Negotiating IRS Payments & Settlements
• Payroll Taxes
• Power of Attorney
• Tax Planning

• Charitable Trusts
• Drafting Trusts
• Drafting Wills
• Estate Administration
• Estate Planning
• Living Trusts
• Living Wills
• Probate
• Asset Protection
• Guardianship
• Power of Attorney
• Business Succession Planning
• Special Needs Trust
• Supplemental Needs Trust
• Revocable Trust & Irrevocable Trust

CO, Oct 1968
Bar Number: 286

I am admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the Colorado Supreme Court, the United States Court of Military Appeals, the United States Tax Court and the Federal District Court for the District of Colorado.

I am a member of the American, Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, the Denver Estate Planning Council and the National Association of Estate Planning Councils as an Accredited Estate Planner.

Annually, I consistently exceed the number of required Continuing Legal Education hours through individual continuing legal education experiences and through regular attendance at Denver Estate Planning Council seminars. I ensure that my advisement and counsel are current by also enlisting the services of several specialized on line newsletters. I also periodically teach Continuing Legal Education seminars on ethics, estate planning and representing the buyer in business sale transactions.

Current cases of interest include: Contesting a Guardianship and Conservatorship of a highly independent business person, advising a family whose parent will require more advanced, intensive support and care than anyone had anticipated, planning with a family for the future needs of their developmentally challenged child, and administering an estate of a self-made entrepreneur here in the Denver metro area.

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Colorado, Connecticut, New York, and Texas

Horen, Lockwood & Masters, LLP began as an estate and business planning focused firm as Schmidt & Horen in 1993 in downtown Denver. As we have added new partners and new areas of service, we have also relocated to the Southern Metropolitan Denver/Northern Douglas County area, allowing easier access for our clients.

We believe that every person's life is his or her own journey, which occasionally requires the support and counsel of experienced, visionary experts. Accordingly, our firm is dedicated to helping individuals and families plan for the future, protect their hard earned assets, and administer the estates of loved ones. We work with families in Guardianship and Conservatorship actions as part of the overall process of planning for and responding to the intermediate stages of one's journey. We also collaborate with business clients in helping their businesses grow and develop.

Estate Planning:

I assist clients in formalizing their dreams, goals, and plans for passing their legacies to their families by creating estate plans that are customized specifically to each client's needs. With forty years of expertise in this area, I listen to clients' concerns, educate and counsel them as to the most effective and efficient ways to meet those needs and collaboratively create the documentation which seeks to implement those plans well into the future. I believe every person is here to follow his or her own journey and I am available to assist with the best counsel I can provide.

Probate/Estate Administration

Our estate administration and probate clients span a wide range of people and backgrounds from extensive estates to relatively simple matters. In each situation I rely upon my continuing education and expertise to guide clients through the challenges of economically, effectively honoring the wishes of their loved one. The highest accolade I can receive is to hear that the wishes of their family member were honored.

Business Formation and Transactions

I work with our business clients to select the correct type of entity for pursuing their business dream, and create documentation formalizing and guiding that entity so that the structures we create serve our clients, many of whom are entrepreneurs, in the best possible way. I truly enjoy assisting our business clients with matters varying from contract negotiations to exit planning with a range of planning and transactions in between.

I have always focused on the people issues of estate and business planning, business transactions and estate administration. Over the past 40 years, my practice has brought me tremendous opportunities to hone my skills in these areas while adding expertise in Guardianships and Conservatorships.

I have personally received the AV-Rating for High Professional Legal Standards & Ethics from Martindale Hubbell for over twenty years, including 2009. In 1994 I earned the designation of Accredited Estate Planner from the National Association of Estate Planning Councils. As Schmidt & Horen, LLP our firm was AV-Rated for High Professional Legal Standards and Ethics from 2002-2008 by Martindale Hubbell. Horen, Lockwood & Masters was AV-Rated for High Professional Legal Standards and Ethics for 2009 by Martindale Hubbell. In 2007 and 2009 I received accolades as a "Super Lawyer" from Law and Politics Magazine and 5280 Magazine as being in the top 5% of lawyers in Colorado. In 2009 I received the accolade of "Best Client Satisfaction - Wealth Management" from 5280 Magazine and Colorado Biz Magazine. Further, I have received recognition for my extensive Pro Bono work from the Colorado Bar Association.

Mark Donovan, Paralegal.

(303) 436-9648

Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p. m.

After hours, please email us at RPH@H-L-MLaw.com, as we frequently check emails overnight.

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We work with clients on both a fixed-price basis and an hourly rate basis depending on the complexities of the matter. I also delegate many tasks which other attorneys do themselves to our well-trained staff of associates and paralegals, often reducing costs dramatically.

$275 for my time, $175 for associates' time, and $95 for paralegal's time.

I always enjoy meeting with clients for up to an hour at no cost for an initial consultation. This allows us to get to know each other, understand what has been done and what needs to be done. I typically conclude these consultations with a bid for the word that needs to be done.

I typically request a retainer which is commensurate with the time devoted to the matter and the complexity of the issues. My request for a retainer is also a vehicle by which the client demonstrates that they are as committed as we are to completing the project.