Sarah Patel Pacheco

Shareholder
713-752-8630
spacheco@craincaton.com

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Admitted to the State Bar of Texas;  November 1993

Admitted to practice before the Southern District of Texas; July 1995

Board Certified: Estate Planning and Probate Law; December 1998

Legal Education

             Doctor of Jurisprudence: May 1993,

Southern Methodist University, School of Law, Dallas, Texas

Undergraduate Education

Bachelor of Accounting: May 1990,

University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas

Practice Area

Representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trial and appellate courts in the State of Texas in matters relating to probate and trust administration and litigation including, but not limited to, will contests, will and trust interpretation issues, accounting and administration issues, prosecution and defense of various fiduciary claims, representation of creditors in probate and trust proceedings, representing applicants and contestants in guardianship proceedings, representing personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries, and guardians in matters relating to the administration of estates, trusts, and guardianships, preparation of death tax returns and related matters, drafting will, trusts, ancillary documents and related estate planning documents, and related estate tax matters.

Publications

Co-Author:     West Publishing: Texas Probate Practice Guide

Co-Author:     West Publishing: Texas Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning Practice Guide

Associate Editor: State Bar of Texas: Texas Guardianship Manual

Professional Activities

State Bar of Texas:        

Legal Specialization Estate Planning and Probate Exam Commission (Chair 2006-present, Member 2004-2006)

State Bar of Texas Guardianship Manual Committee (1997-present)

Course Director; Building Block of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning, January 2003, Nuts and Bolts of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning, June 2005, and Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course, June 2006; Served on numerous planning committees

Real Estate, Probate & Trust Section, Member

Houston Bar Association:

Probate, Trust & Estate Section Council:  Chair Elect 2008-2009; Vice-Chair 2007-2008; Secretary 2006-2007; Treasurer 2005-2006, Councilmember 2000-2005

CLE Committee: Co-Chair:  2008-2009; Seminars Subcommittee Co-Chair 2007-2008; Institutes Subcommittee Co-Chair 2006-2007   

Elder Law Committee: 2007-2008

Judicial Polls Committee: 2008-2009

Houston Bar Foundation: Fellow (elected 2004)

Other Associations:

Houston Young Lawyers Association: Fellow (elected 2000); Co-Chair of Elder Law Committee (1998- 2003)

Texas Young Lawyers Association: Needs of Senior Citizens Committee (1999-2003)

Generation-X Estate Planning Forum:  Member (1999-present)

Houston Estate and Financial Forum

Women Attorneys in Tax and Probate:  Vice President, Programs (2000-2001); C.L.E. Officer (1999-2000)

Disabilities & Elder Law Attorneys:  Member

American Bar Association: Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and Litigation Sections; Member (1993-present)

Nominations & Awards:

Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly (2004-2008)

Texas Rising Star by Texas Monthly (2004)

One of the Top Lawyers Under Forty by H-Texas Magazine (2004)

One of the Top Lawyers in Houston by H-Texas Magazine (2005-2008)

One of the Top Lawyers in Houston by Houston Magazine (2006-2008)

The Best Lawyers in America in Trusts and Estates Specialties (2006-2009)

One of the Top 50 Female Attorneys in Texas by Texas Monthly Magazine (2006, 2008)

Speeches & Articles

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Advanced Guardianship Institute.  Topic:  When Is the Guardianship Tipping Point;  March 2009

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Building Blocks of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Administration Issues; January 2009.

Speaker/Author:             Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants; 2008 Advanced Estate Planning Conference.  Topic: Fiduciary Litigation:  Making a Molehill Out of a Mountain;  August 2008.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 32nd Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Topic: Discretionary Distributions; Clear as Mud;  June 2008.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Fiduciary Litigation.  Topic:  Executors & Trustees; April 2008.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; CLE Webcasts.  Topic:  Protecting Ourselves:  Attorney Liability Issues; March 2008.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Building Blocks of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Estate Administration Issues; January 2008.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 18th Annual Advanced Drafting Course.  Topic:  Trust Fiduciary Provisions:  Must, Shall, Will, Won’t, May, Could, Should … Don’t?, October  2007.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College of Law; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Landmines for Lawyers; September 2007.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 13th Annual Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Course.  Topic:  Protecting Ourselves:  Attorney Liability Issues; April 2007

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Advanced Guardianship Institute.  Topic:  Roles of Attorneys in Guardianship Proceedings; The Ethics of Representing Applicants, (Alleged) Incapacitated Person or Others;  March 2007

Speaker/Author:             San Antonio Young Lawyers Association; Docket Call in Probate Court 2007.  Practicing In The Estate Planning, Trust And Probate Area in a Post Belt v. Oppenheimer World; February 2007.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Building Blocks of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Texas Probate and Non-Probate Proceedings; January 2007.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 17th Annual Advanced Drafting Course.  Topic:  The Prince and the Pauper:  A Look at Trust Distribution Standards; November  2006.

Speaker/Author:             Houston Bar Association; Probate, Trusts & Estates Section.  Topic:  Navigating The Quagmire Of Potential Claims In An Estate, Trust And Guardianship Practice; October 2006.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College of Law; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Navigating The Quagmire Of Potential Claims Against Lawyers Who Represent Fiduciaries And Other Clients In An Estate, Trust And Guardianship Practice; September 2006.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College of Law; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Navigating The Quagmire Of Potential Claims Against Lawyers Who Represent Fiduciaries And Other Clients In An Estate, Trust And Guardianship Practice; September 2006.

Speaker/Author:             University of Texas School of Law, 8th Annual Intermediate Estate Planning, Guardianship and Elder Law Conference.  Topic: Management Plans:  Getting the Mountain Back Into the Molehill; August 2006.

Speaker:                         University of Texas School of Law, 8th Annual Intermediate Estate Planning, Guardianship and Elder Law Conference.  Topic: Guardianships:  Recognizing Various Fiduciary Relationships, Duties & Issues that Commonly Arise in Guardianship Proceedings and Related Litigation; August 2006.

Speaker/Author:             Tarrant County Probate Bar Association.  Topic: Navigating The Quagmire Of Potential Claims Against Lawyers Who Represent Fiduciaries And Other Clients In An Estate, Trust And Guardianship Practice; August 2006.

Speaker/Author:             The Center For American And International Law. Topic: Planning For Incapacity and Other Litigation Issues;  May 2006.

Speaker/Author:             University of Houston School of Law; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Don’t Become a Defendant!  Avoiding the Thicket of Potential Claims Against Lawyers In The Estate, Trust And Guardianship Areas;  May 2006.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Building Blocks of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Texas Probate and Non-Probate Proceedings; January 2006.

Speaker/Author:             University of Houston School of Law; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Navigating The Quagmire Of Potential Claims Against Lawyers Who Represent Fiduciaries And Other Clients In An Estate, Trust And Guardianship Practicie; July 2005.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 29th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Topic: Tax Considerations of Settlement Agreements & Judgments;  June 2005.

Speaker/Author:             Amarillo Area Estate Planning Council’s Fourteenth Annual Institute on Estate Planning.  Topic: Family Settlement Agreements: Considerations When Negotiating, Drafting and Enforcing Settlement Agreements Involving Probate, Trust and Guardianship Disputes;  May 2005.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Guardianship Course 2005.  Topic:  Administering the Guardianship:  Beyond the Basics;  April 2005

Speaker/Author:             San Antonio Young Lawyers Association; Docket Call in Probate Court 2005.  Topic: Family Settlement Agreements;  February 2005.

Speaker/Author:             Houston Bar Association: 2005 Wills & Probate Institute, Advanced Course. Topic: Navigating the Quagmire of Fiduciary Responsibilities and Liabilities;  February 2005.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Building Blocks of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Administration of Estates and Trusts; January 2005.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 15th Annual Advanced Drafting Course.  Topic:  Preserving The Grantor’s Intent Under Changing Circumstances And Litigious Beneficiaries:  A Planner And Litigator’s Perspective;   November  2004.

Speaker/Author:             Texas Banker’s Association 2004 Estate Administration Seminar.  Topic: Family Settlement Agreements.  October 2004.

Speaker/Author:             Tarrant County Probate Bar Association 3rd Annual Probate Litigation Seminar.  Topic: Papering the Deal; Release, Indemnities and Agreements, September 2004.

Speaker/Author:             University of Texas School of Law, 6th Annual Intermediate Estate Planning, Guardianship and Elder Law Conference.  Topic:  Roles and Responsibilities of Guardianship;  August 2004.

Speaker/Author:             Houston Bar Association: Continuing Legal Education Programs, Spring/Summer 2004 Seminars. Topic: Dealing with Probate Issues in Personal Injury and Similar Litigation;  July 2004.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas;  28th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Topic:   Hot Topics for the Incapacitated, Marriage, Divorce, Estate Planning, Seeking Restoration, and other Actions by Person’s Subject to a Guardianship Proceeding;  June 2004.

Speaker/Author:             University of Houston School of Law; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Dependent Administrations;  May 2004.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas;  Fiduciary Litigation Course.  Topic:   Guardianships:  Recognizing Various Fiduciary Relationships, Duties & Issues that Commonly Arise in Guardianship Proceedings and Related Litigation;  May 2004.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Elder Law Institute.  Topic:  What Can a Ward Do?;  April 2004

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Building Blocks of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Administration of Estates and Trusts;  January 2004.

Speaker/Author:             Tarrant County Probate Bar Association 2nd Annual Probate Litigation Seminar.  Topic: Settlement Agreements; Considerations When Negotiating, Drafting & Enforcing Settlement Agreements.  October 2003

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas;  27th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Topic: Peace Treaties: Considerations When Negotiating, Drafting & Enforcing Settlement Agreements;  June 2003.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College Law; Elder Law Estate Planning, Special Needs Trusts and Guardianships Program.  Topic: “Non” Sense and Sensibilities  - A Practical Review of the Procedural and Evidentiary Issues in Contested Guardianship Litigation and Settlement;  May 2003.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Texas Minority Attorney Program.  Topic:  Guardian Ad Litems: Avoiding the Pitfalls;  April 2003.

Speaker/Author:             Dallas Estate Planning Council.  Topic:  We All Become Inflexible When We Die:  Pre-Death Planning To Provide For Management, Flexibility, Control and Protection From Interlopers;  March 2003.

Speaker/Author:             53rd Tennessee Federal Tax Institute.  Topic:  The Ethical, Legal & Practical Considerations When Representing Clients With Questionable Capacity;  December 2002.

Speaker:                         Fort Bend Estate Planning Council.  Topic:  Court Created Section 867 Trusts as an Alternative to Guardianship;  August 2002.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas;  26th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Topic:   What I Have Learned in the Guardianship Trenches;  June 2002.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College Law; Representing the Elderly Client Institute.  Topic:  Case Law and Statutory Update;  May 2002.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Elder Law Institute.  Topic:  Advanced Directives – Beyond the Basic Forms;  March 2002.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Building Block of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Probate Law for Estate Planners Who “Don’t Do Probate”; January 2002.

Author:                           Texas Lawyer.  Article. Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It:  How to Manage the Risks and Rewards as a Fiduciary; December  2001.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 12th Annual Advanced Drafting Course.  Topic:  Drafting for Incapacity – Going the Extra Mile for Your Client, November  2001.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College Law; 15th Annual Wills and Probate Institute.  Topic: Guardianships Litigation; September  2001.

Author:                           South Texas College Law; 15th Annual Wills and Probate Institute.  Topic: Duties of the Attorney Ad Litem and the Guardian Ad Litem; September  2001.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 25th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  The Role of the Ad Litem and Contested Issues;  June  2001.

Speaker/Author:             Southwestern Legal Foundation; 40th Annual Institute on Wills & Probate;  Client Incapacity or Questionable Capacity, May  2001.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas;  Building Block of Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning.  Topic:  Probate Law for Estate Planners Who “Don’t Do Probate”; January  2001.

Speaker/Author:             University of Houston; Handling Insurance and Tort Claims.  Topic: Dealing with Probate: Recognizing and Avoiding the Traps;  December  2000.

Author:                           Houston Chronicle.  Article: Good Estate Plan Includes More Than a Will, October 27, 2000.

Speaker/Author:             Houston Bar Association; Guardianship and Elder Law Issues For The Practitioner & Ad Litem.  Topic: Disqualification, Resignation and Removal of a Guardian;  October 20, 2000.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College Law; 14th Annual Wills and Probate Institute.  Topic: Current Issues in Guardianship Administration and Litigation; September 2000.

Author:                           State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Reporter, Vol. 38, No. 4.  Article: The Preparation and Trial of Contested Guardianships;  July, 2000.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 24th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Topic:  Contested Guardianships;  June 2000.

Speaker/Author:             Houston Bar Association; Wills & Probate Institute.  Topic: Current Issues in Guardianship Litigation;  February, 2000.

Speaker/Author:             San Antonio Young Lawyers Association; Docket Call in Probate Court 2000.  Topic: Contested Guardianships;  January, 2000.

Author:                           San Antonio Young Lawyers Association; Docket Call in Probate Court 2000.  Topic: How to Initiate a Guardianship;  January, 2000.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College Law; 13th Annual Wills and Probate Institute.  Topic: Peace Treaties; Creation, Drafting and Enforcement Considerations; September 1999.

Speaker                         Houston Bar Association 1998-1999 Continuing Legal Education Programs. Topic: Alternatives to Formal Probate,  July 1999.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 23rd Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Settlement Agreements;  June 1999.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Elder Law Institute.  Ethics Panel: Ethical Issues in the Practice of Elder Law;  February 1999.

Author:                           State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Reporter, Vol. 37, No. 2. Article:  The Preparation and Trial of Contested Guardianships;  January, 1999.

Speaker:                         Houston Bar Association; Probate and Family Law Bench Bar Conference.  Panel: Jurisdictional Overlap: A Judicial Face-Off;  October 1998. 

Speaker/Author:             University of Houston; Handling Insurance and Tort Claims.  Topic: Dealing with Probate: Recognizing and Avoiding the Traps;  September 1998.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; 22nd Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Law Course.  Contested Guardianships;  June 1998.

Speaker/Author:             Houston Bar Association;  Probate, Trusts & Estates Section.  Topic:  The Creation, Administration, and Termination of Temporary Administrations;  May 1998.

Speaker:                         State Bar of Texas; Guardianship Institute. Topic: The ADA and its Application to the Incapacitated Individual;  February/March 1998.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Guardianship Institute. Topic: Contested Guardianships/ADR;  February/March 1998.

Author:                           Texas Lawyer.  Article:  Probate’s Top Ten Changes;  January 1998.

Speaker:                         Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Law Seminar for Attorneys, Legal Assistants and Other Professionals.  Topic: Settlements and Trust  Modifications: Tax Considerations; October 1997.

Speaker/Author:             South Texas College Law; 11th Annual Wills and Probate Institute.  Topic: Guardianship Laws: The Basics;  September 1997.

Speaker/Author:             University of Houston; Handling Insurance and Tort Claims.  Topic: Dealing with Probate: Recognizing and Avoiding the Traps; August/September 1997.

Author:                           Texas Lawyer.  Article:  Representing the Potentially Incapacitated;  April 1997.

Speaker/Author:             State Bar of Texas; Wills & Probate.  Topic: Guardianships: Guardianship of Estate and Person, and Ad Litem Appointments;  February 1997.

Author:                           Texas Lawyer.  Article:  Avoiding Sudden Death in Probate Court; September 1996.

Author:                           University of Houston; Handling Insurance and Tort Claims.  Topic:  Dealing with Probate: The Ten Worst Traps (or How to Avoid Sudden Death in the Probate Courts);  September 1996.

Author:                           Houston Bar Association; Guardianships and Ad Litems in the Probate Courts.  Topic:  Trying a Contested Guardianship;  September 1995.

Author:                           University of Houston; Handling Insurance and Tort Claims.  Topic:  Dealing with Probate: The Ten Worst Traps;  August 1995.