Tom assists clients with virtually all aspects of estate, gift and generation-skipping tax transfer planning; probate; wealth preservation planning; community property issues; income taxation of estate and trusts; and fiduciary litigation. He also counsels families with respect to complex non-tax aspects of wealth transmission to subsequent generations. 

Tom has extensive experience in his practice area and has been board certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1978.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, The University of Texas, with honors, Order of the Coif, 1973

BBA, Southern Methodist University, with honors, 1970

• Represented individuals in design of wealth transfer plans, including lifetime and testamentary transfers.
• Represented individuals in the formation and reorganization of family businesses (corporate, partnership, and limited liability company) to achieve family wealth transfer objectives.
• Represented individuals in the design of trusts benefiting family members.
• Represented individuals in the design of private philanthropy, including design and implementation of private foundations and private gift funds with community foundations.
• Represented individuals and corporate entities as executors in the administration of decedent's estates and as trustees in the administration of both lifetime and testamentary trusts.
• Represented executors and trustees in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service relating to estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxation.
• Represented individuals and entities in fiduciary litigation matters, including suits for alleged breaches of trust and abuse of discretion.
• Represented individuals and entities in will and trust contests and construction and modification actions.
• Represented individuals preparing to marry in the design of premarital agreements.

• Member, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, 1984-Present
• Member, The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, 1990-Present
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Dallas County Bar Association
• Texas State Bar Association
• Board certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1978-Present

• Selected as a Best Lawyer for Trusts and Estates, Best Lawyers in America, 2000, 2003-2016. A description of the selection methodology can be found on Best Lawyers’ webpage.
• Selected as a Super Lawyer for Estate Planning and Probate, Texas Monthly, 2007-2016. A description of the selection methodology can be found on Super Lawyers’ webpage.
• Selected as a Best Business Lawyer in Dallas, 2007-2011, and Best Personal Lawyer in Dallas, 2009, D Magazine. A description of the selection methodology can be found on D magazine’s webpage.
• Listed among the Best Lawyers in Dallas, D Magazine, 2007-2015. A description of the selection methodology can be found on D magazine’s webpage.

• Estate Planning for the Owner of Oil and Gas Properties; An Overview of Judicial and Legislative Developments with Planning Considerations, Oil and Gas Tax Quarterly 26.1 Page: 10
• Author/Speaker (Partial Listing): Texas State Bar Advanced Estate Planning Institute, SMU Symposium on Estate Planning, Texas CPA Foundation, Dallas Estate Planning Council, Texas International Law Symposium, Notre Dame Estate Planning Institute, University of Texas Annual Taxation Conference, Southwestern Legal Foundation Wills and Probates Institute, North Texas Audit Staff, IRS Estate and Gift Tax Board