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Guardianship and the Art of Giving
August 28, 2023 @ 12:00 pm
Topic: GUARDIANSHIP AND THE ART OF GIVING
Description
Guardianship is the legal process in Texas whereby an incapacitated person loses some or all of their civil rights. This presentation will review the basics of the guardianship process as well as available options to avoid guardianship. We will explore what happens to an existing or future estate plan or gift, ability to make gifts in a guardianship or with a power of attorney and discuss the enforceability of “gifts” when a donor loses capacity.
Speakers
Clint Alexander
Clint practices guardianship, probate and general estate planning in Williamson, Travis and surrounding counties and also handles contested matters and has extensive practice in dependent administrations. He is frequently appointed by the courts in Travis and Williamson Counties to serve as an attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem, or estate administrator in probate, trust, and guardianship cases. Before joining Barnes Lipscomb & Stewart in 2010, Clint was privileged to serve for two and half years as the Law Clerk / Staff Attorney for The Honorable Guy Herman in the Travis County Probate Court No. 1.
Clint also offers mediation services for contested probate and guardianship matters. He is a regular speaker for the Texas College of Probate Judges regarding heirship determinations and dependent administrations.
Ellen Stewart
Ellen’s practice areas range from guardianship, probate, fiduciary litigation to estate planning. She has a depth of litigation experience gained from her work representing individual and corporate clients in commercial and insurance litigation. Her practice encompasses all aspects of guardianship and estate/trust administration by representing executors, trustees, heirs, beneficiaries, and creditors, in routine estate administrations as well as complex and contested matters. Ellen has written and presented various CLE materials on probate estate administration and guardianship.
Ellen Stewart also works on pro bono with Family Eldercare and Volunteer Legal Services involving estate planning, probate, and guardianship. Her volunteer work also includes serving on the Texas Wellness Conference Planning Committee (2006), serving on the board of directors for the ABA Estate Planning and Probate Section.
Outside of the legal community, Ellen has served as an advisor to college students at Southwestern University and Texas State University. Ellen previously served as the local president of the Greater Austin Alumni Association of Southwestern University from 2007-09 and still participates in the local alumni events. Ellen and her family reside in Austin, where both of her children graduated from AISD. Ellen and her family are members of St. Theresa Catholic Church and former members of St. Thomas More Catholic Church.
Education
- Baylor University Law School JD 1996
- Southwestern University BA Magna Cum Laude 1993
Professional Associations and Memberships
- State Bar of Texas, Member 1996 – present
- State Bar of Texas, Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section
- State Bar of Texas, Litigation Section
- Texas Bar Foundation – Life Fellow
- Austin Bar Association
- ABA Estate Planning and Probate Section (Board of Directors 2007-2013; Chair 2010-11; Chair-Elect 2009-10)
- ABA Litigation Section
- Real Estate Probate & Trust Law
- Williamson County Bar Association
- Admitted – United States District Court for the Northern and Western Districts of Texas