Contact Info
El Paso
T: (915) 546-8253
F: (915) 546-8333

Las Cruces
T: (575) 522-0765
F: (575) 522-0006

• Negotiated, on behalf of one of the part owners, a buy-sell agreement for a corporation owning a multi million dollar ranch in northern New Mexico. The agreement restricted transferability of interests in the ranch to preserve its historic heritage and to keep the ranch in the family. The agreement also was designated to protect shareholders from the creditors of other shareholders from gaining an interest in the entity.
• Drafted multi-generational estate planning documents for a great-grandmother with a net worth of $7 million and her daughter, the grandmother, with a net worth of $40 million.  The plan maximized both generations' exemptions from the estate tax and the generation-skipping transfer tax to establish dynasty trusts for the family.  The great grandmother's plan also took into consideration that a portion of her estate would go to Mexican citizens and residents where there is no estate tax, thus preserving exemptions for the U.S. side of the family.
• Designed estate plan for $100 million plus net worth Mexican citizens and residents with U.S. property and children who are U.S. citizens.  The plan establishes a dynasty trust exempt from estate taxes for the whole of the estate and a contingent provision applying traditional estate tax planning techniques in the event one or both clients decide to become a U.S. resident at some point in the future.
• Established a rolling two year Grantor Retained Annuity Trust for $70 million net worth clients to transfer significant values of U.S. stock to children with no gift tax consequences.
• Restated 17-year-old, irrevocable life insurance trust holding $7 million life insurance policy, preserving the generation-skipping transfer exemptions applied to the trust by utilizing regulations applicable to grandfathered GST trusts.
• Established irrevocable trust to hold $1 million gift to ensure special needs treatment and prevent disqualification from government benefits for the beneficiary who is dependent on benefits for healthcare.
• Established revocable living trust for married clients with a taxable estate, the bulk of which was in the form of individual retirement and other qualified accounts, by providing for post death and estate tax qualified adjustments to the plan to minimize the income tax consequences associated with qualified accounts.
• Assisted an elderly client to plan for his incapacity and the competing interests of his children by transferring control of his revocable and irrevocable trusts, which held family owned farming related businesses and significant liquid assets, from himself to an independent corporate trustee.
• Regularly prepares living trusts and related documents for clients to maximize estate tax and generation skipping transfer tax exemptions and to provide creditor protection for children of clients.  Living trusts also typically include special needs provisions for the surviving spouse and children that "turn on" only when needed.  Clients for this type of planning typically range in net worth from $1.5 million to $10 million.
• Regularly prepares living trusts designed to provide asset management in the event of incapacity and creditor protection for surviving spouses, especially in the context of long-term care issues.  These trusts make extensive use of special needs provisions that "turn on" only when needed.  Clients for this type of planning typically range in net worth from $250,000 and up.

• Gallaspy v. Raytheon Technical Services Co., 211 Fed. Appx. 269 (5th Cir. 2006) (affirming a directed verdict for the defendant in an international race discrimination case);
• Vibbert v. Par, Inc., 224 S.W.3d 317 (Tex. App.-El Paso 2006, no writ) (affirming a summary judgment for the defendant in a fraud and conversion case);
• In re Applied Chemical Magnesias Corp., 206 S.W.3d 114 (Tex. 2006) (original proceeding) (wrote successful Petition for Mandamus relating to mandatory venue);
• Gallaspy v. Raytheon Technical Services Co., No. EP-04-CV-0012-FM, 2005 U.S. Dist. Lexis 16342 (August 9, 2005); (granting summary judgment for the defendant on the plaintiff's 42 U.S.C. § 1981 race discrimination claims); and
• Velasquez v. Waste Connections, Inc., 169 S.W.3d 432 (Tex. App.-El Paso 2005, no writ) (affirming summary judgment for the defendant in a national origin discrimination case).