Zapata County Estate Planning Lawyers

Octavio Salinas II brings forth an extensive legal and business background. He has handled hundreds of criminal and civil cases throughout Texas and the United States, settled multi-million dollar personal injury claims, and argued before the state and federal appeal courts.

An attorney with over twenty eight years of experience, Sharon helps individuals and companies resolve even the most difficult and complex cases in an efficient manner. Sharon has experience assisting clients in a variety of practice areas including estate planning, probate, guardianship law, elder law, wills and trusts, adoption law, special needs planning, qualified income trusts, medicaid eligibility, residential and commercial real estate, asset protection, corporate and business law, corporate and LLC formation, franchising, and ad valorem tax issues. Call to discuss your case or legal issue with us today.

My practice is dedicated to growing and preserving the wealth of our community. I am a native of South Texas and grew up in Alice. After decades away gaining the education and experience needed to improve my community I have returned to raise my family and provide our community with quality legal services.

Our firm specializes in Estate Planning, Probate Administration, Trust Law and Guardianship matters. We also help our clients create and maintain business related entities including corporations and partnerships.

Terry Garrett is a Certified Elder and Special Needs Law Attorney and a Texas Approved Guardianship Attorney. She advises people in Central Texas who are preparing for and enjoying their retirement years and people with special needs and their families. Her clients range from couples who are just starting out and people who want to stay in charge during retirement to families with multinational businesses. Having worked and studied in Asia for many years, she also enjoys advising on transnational planning. Terry Garrett graduated with honors from Cornell University. She was on the Dean's List...

Amir Tavakkoli, founder of the firm, was the Vice President of his law school class and graduated Summa Cum Laude. His legal and political experiences include working with Judge Kyle Carter in the 125th Harris County Civil Courthouse, U.S. Representative Al Green, State Representative Garnet Coleman, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, and the Houston Bar Association. Amir was also a research assistant at his law school. Amir has successfully tried judge and jury cases in family, criminal, and civil matters.

With over 15 years of legal experience, Gratia goes to great lengths to ensure that every one of her clients, no matter the challenges they face, receives the compassion and respect they rightfully deserve. She is committed to personally guiding you through your legal journey, infusing it with her distinctive personal approach, empathy, and unwavering values. Gratia has assisted numerous clients in crafting their Trusts & Estate Plans, adeptly represented them in both uncontested and contested Probate cases, and provided invaluable support in matters such as Divorce, Paternity, Visitation, Child Support, and Adoption cases. Furthermore, Gratia boasts extensive experience as a...

My immediate family farms throughout New Mexico, West Texas and Oklahoma. In fact, my grandfather drove a tractor until the day that he passed at the ripe old age of 89. As they say where I’m from: "He died with his cowboy boots on." I was in my first semester of law school at that time, and the time and expense of the estate process was so traumatizing to my family that I was sure the estate attorney had committed malpractice. As it turned out, he did what many estate attorneys do. I knew then that I could do much better,...

Originally from the Thousand Islands region of New York. I relocated to Texas via the U.S. Air Force in 1988. I spent the first 15 years in Austin, prior to attending law school at St. Mary's school of law. Once licensed, I relocated to San Antonio.

Attorney David Nguyen received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Houston. During his undergraduate studies, Attorney Nguyen developed a passion for minority-related issues when he enrolled in a course in African American studies. This course allowed Attorney Nguyen to explore the historical, cultural, political, economic, and social development [or lack thereof] of minorities in the United States.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Attorney Nguyen attended Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, which has been ranked number one in achieving diversification in its student body.

Attorney Nguyen has worked as an Attorney for private law firms and...

Attorney Jason Oxner primarily practices civil law, with a focus on Estate Planning, Business Litigation and Transactions, Probate, and Civil Law. Attorney Jason Oxner graduated summa cum laude in the top 5% and currently holds a Law Degree and Masters of Law Degree. During law school, Jason was an associate editor on Law Review, elected as Mr. Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and taught Real Property for two years. Jason Oxner is a Canadian citizen who moved to Massachusetts on an academic and athletic (hockey & rowing) scholarship at the Groton School in 2002. Jason continued with his rowing career at...

Estate Planning: I do things differently from other lawyers. I do not just give you a stack of documents. I advise and guide you to the best possible outcome for your family when you cannot be there for them yourself. My firm represents Texas and Missouri families and individuals on matters involving estate planning, succession, wills, trusts, and asset protection. I help you make the best planning decisions for your family and ensure that the estate plan you create with me will work when your loved ones need it most. I have invested heavily in estate planning training and technology for my firm to...

In the last several years, Ms. Vance’s practice has included a central focus on family and marital disputes.

She promotes a gentler focus on marital termination, convinced that a family’s energies should be spent on the healthy development of children, rather than concentrating on marital angst. Ms. Vance works closely with mental health providers, so that clients can heal, rather than continue to wound those they do, and have, loved. As a result, the firm promotes collaborative law for marital disputes, whenever appropriate. When necessary, however, to protect families, Ms Vance's trial skills successfully promote the best interests of her...

Board Certified Experience. It matters when it comes to hiring your attorney. Bob Leonard brings more than 30 years of legal experience to the table. He is an expert family law attorney representing adoption, divorce and custody clients in agreed matters and in highly contentions legal battles. Each year he spends hundreds of hours in court hearings and litigation. For one hour in court, he spends at least ten more preparing the case. In addition, every year the entire team earns more than triple the number of credits required by the State Bar of Texas....

Originally from New Orleans, Kathy E. Roux graduated from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center. While in law school, she was elected Freshman Class Representative and appointed Ombudsman for LSU’s Student Government Association. She won 1st place for the Southern Region in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court competition, and was chosen to represent LSU in the National Moot Court competition.
After graduation, she began working for Southeast Louisiana Legal Services in New Orleans, practicing poverty law. While there, her practice areas included Consumer Bankruptcy, Consumer Protection, Housing Law, and the Low...

I perform legal service the way I would want to receive it - in an honest and straight forward manner. I'm married with children, am active in my church and community, and enjoy playing golf and hunting when I'm not coaching youth athletics. Feel free to call me if you have a question. You and I might discover that your question is easier to answer than you thought or we might find that your question is just the tip of an iceberg. Schedule a meeting with me and you'll find that I'm fair and honest just like a friend or...

Angelica’s primary goal is to assist clients in navigating the complex legal system so that you and your family come through your transition on solid footing, while minimizing the associated emotional toll that family law and probate matters can generate. Angelica's experience in family law, estate planning, and probate help her effectively represent her client's interests.

Angelica has experience in helping clients draft their wills, drafting powers of attorney, and probate administration. In addition, Angelica has experience in assisting clients with divorce, suits affecting the parent-child relationship, paternity, modification of custody and visitation, and termination and relinquishment of...

As a Texan with a large family, a passion for travel and entrepreneurship, familiarity with the ins and outs of moving and renting, and experience with the "dark side" of probate when family members pass without any estate plan, I built Zapalac Law Firm, PLLC, around my own history: we focus on landlord/tenant law, estate planning, probate, business creation and administration, and real estate transactions. In short: Family, Home, and Business. These ideas are more closely related than they seem. People rent or own property, they operate businesses, they save wealth for the next generation and, inevitably, they pass away and...

I am a tax attorney and CPA with a varied work experience. I spent multiple years working for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Houston in Mergers and Acquisitions. I also spent a couple of years teaching tax accounting at SFA; I still teach part-time at TJC. Although I no longer represent the Exxons of the world, my attention to detail and knowledge of the Internal Revenue Code is substantial. In my current practice, I focus on tax and business planning, estate planning, bankruptcy, and property issues in divorce.

I was raised in North Louisiana, but as a graduate of White Oak High...

Kate Broussard Thorne is an attorney at MehaffyWeber, P.C. in the firm’s business practice group. Kate focuses her practice on estate planning, probate law, elder law, corporate law, real estate transactions, and oil and gas work. While at Baylor Law School, Kate was active in Baylor’s Public Service Program, receiving the distinction of Public Interest Scholar. She was especially involved in the Baylor Veteran’s Clinic and with the Baylor Pro Bono Transactional Team, which gave Kate a unique opportunity to speak with Veterans about their legal problems and gain valuable experience drafting estate planning and business organization documents. She practices...

Probate isn't about money, it's about family. I am from a large Mexican family in the border city of Laredo, Texas. Family dynamics are always complex and changing, but my unique upbringing taught me to value my family even more now that I practice in the city of Austin. I understand that going through probate is often intimidating, and takes place at a difficult time when a family has lost a loved one. My goal is to make it as easy and efficient as possible on your family, so that you can get back to doing...

Mr. Moore, a native of Cypress, Texas, has dedicated his career to civil litigation and general practice. Clients benefit from his dynamic and effective legal services, which are consistently guided by a client-first approach. Clients who choose to engage Mr. Moore for their legal needs experience the advantages of working with a solo practitioner. This includes receiving personalized attention directly from the attorney they hired, rather than getting lost in the shuffle of larger firms. The Law Office of Troy M. Moore covers various practice areas, including Probate, Will Preparation, Estate Planning, Personal Injury, Real Estate, and Life Insurance Litigation. Mr....

I am Alisha Melvin, Esq., I have been a practicing attorney for more than 10 years, a licensed broker of real estate since 1998, and a minority woman-owned (MWBE) business owner of both law offices and real estate brokerages in four states. I am extremely proficient in real property, probate and estates law. In addition, I broker the sale and purchase of commercial and residential real estate. I have consistently been a multi-million dollar producer in real estate sales. I represent individuals, churches, schools, cities, counties and state entities. In my spare time, I teach Legal Update...

Services We Provide Include: • Probate & Estate Planning: Estate Administration, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Living Wills; • Business Formation & Transactional Matters: Creation of Business Entities (i.e. LLC, Corp., Partnerships) & Other Business Agreements including Mergers & Acquisitions; • Income Tax Returns: Planning & Preparation (Individuals, Partnerships, Corp., Trusts, Gift & Estate Tax, Tax-Exempt Org., Payroll & Others); and • Audits & Appeals: Representation in Problematic Tax & Regulatory Matters.

Attorney Boe Bowen is a native Texan. He was born and raised in Texas and the first in his family to receive a post-secondary education when he graduated Magna Cum Laude from Sam Houston State University at Huntsville, Texas, with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication and History. In 2010 Boe began his legal career by entering the class of 2013 at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas.

During his tenure in law school, Boe remained extremely active by working as a research assistant, tutor, and participated in the mock trial program. Boe graduated Magna Cum...

Mike Massey JD, MBA, MPA just might be the 195th most interesting person in Texas. He has 4 college degrees and he's working on a 5th: BBS Accounting; MPA Master's in Professional Accounting; JD Law Degree; MBA Master's in Business Administration; BBS in Biblical Studies (in progress). Mike is a dedicated family man with a wife of 14 years and 6 children (4 on earth and 2 in heaven). He spends most of his personal time with family, playing games in the yard with his kids, cleaning up with his kids, cleaning up some more with his kids,...

Laura D. Heard has practiced law in San Antonio, Texas for her entire career, spanning more than 3 decades. She is known for her motto: "Justice Flows from Truth, Compassion, Wisdom & Persistence." She is a Family Law Mediator, Divorce Attorney, Wills and Probate Attorney. Laura is tenacious and experienced, and also a great listener. She has handled hundreds of cases in Bexar County and the surrounding counties. She can help with child custody cases, property division disputes, alimony, child support, adoptions, executing new Wills, creating trusts, and probate after death. Laura is a family law Mediator...

An experienced family law, appellate, and litigation attorney who prides himself on delivering practical legal solutions and individual attention, John works closely with his clients to help them overcome some of their most serious challenges. John is a passionate advocate for his clients inside and outside the courtroom. He is equally at home advocating for a better deal at the negotiation table, clinching a closing argument to ensure the best possible verdict, and distilling complex issues into a clear brief for appellate review. He represents individuals in a full range of family law matters with a particular emphasis on unusual and complex...

At Boswell Law Firm our purpose is to help find peace in the chaos of your legal issues. Attorney Duana Boswell-Loechel is Board Certified in Family Law, with over 16 years’ experience in complex divorces, contested custody, probate matters and guardianships. We offer business services such as formation, contracts, and litigation. Our team is exceptionally qualified and enthusiastic about supplying a holistic approach to your legal matters.?We do not just handle the court battle; we connect with each client and develop a plan to meet their unique needs. At Boswell Law Firm we offer structured, flat-fee pricing. This allows clients...

Joe Broussard, a member of one of the founding families of Jefferson County, Texas, joined MehaffyWeber in 1988 and became a shareholder in 1994. Joe is board certified in Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and heads the firm’s Business Department. His experience includes work with numerous closely-held and family owned businesses, residential and commercial real estate developments, convenience stores, petroleum fuel jobbers, real estate transactions involving both surface and mineral interests, oil and gas transactions, wills, trusts, estate tax, gift tax and generation skipping tax planning. Joe is legal counsel and an executive board...

Nicholas Gibson is the founder and managing partner of Gibson Law Group, a distinguished litigation and business law firm, and My Estate Law Group, an estate planning law firm. With an impressive track record spanning over a decade as a top-rated attorney, Nick is committed to delivering unrivaled client-centric solutions through meticulous legal strategies tailored to each unique case. Having honed his skills at prestigious large-scale law firms, Nick’s passion for building enduring client relationships led him to establish his own practices. Through his personalized and attentive approach, Nick ensures that every client receives unparalleled attention and guidance throughout their...

I am a long-time Texas resident and law is not my first career, but it is my passion. I served on active duty as an Engineer Officer. After separating from the Army, I worked in the civilian sector, but wanted to serve again. I now serve people as an attorney.

I have life experience to supplement my knowledge of the law. I am ready to assist you with estate planning, probate, financial analysis, wills, guardianship, divorce, and child custody.

Andrew serves as a consultant for a wide variety of business sectors, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies implementing procedures to safeguard them against litigation. He is a certified Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) Level II Civil Rights Investigator and a certified Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Trainer. Andrew has developed training programs related to workplace harassment prevention; EEOC; COVID-19 safety; and diversity & inclusion. He served on a corporate transaction team that made national news in 2021 for finalizing the acquisition of a $2.3 billion all-cash transaction in Texas. Due to the passing of family members in Andrew's life, he...

Beth A. Serafini-Smith is a distinguished graduate of Purdue University and a graduate of Valparaiso University School of Law. She is a member of both the Katy Bar Association and the Fort Bend County Bar Association. Beth began her law career in the field of Creditor/Debtor law after being admitted to the Indiana Bar in 1997. She provided direct support to several Fortune 500 companies and handled all matters associated with securing outstanding funds for her clients. Beth moved to Texas with her family in 2005, and she passed the Texas Bar Exam in 2009. As a means to further enhance her...

Entering her fourth decade as a practicing attorney, Gretchen Benolken has chosen to divide her professional time into a small handful of areas. First, she spends some time in the service of long time, loyal, existing clients with various needs. Second, the majority of her time is spent with new clients, providing legal services in two specific areas: a) the drafting of wills and trusts for the purpose of protection of assets, and b) representing clients in the probating of the estates of their deceased loved ones and guiding them step-by-step through this judicial process during what is a most...