Sharon Brand Gardner

Shareholder
713-752-8626
sgardner@craincaton.com

vCard

Admitted to Practice Before:

State Bar of Texas, May 1984

Southern District of Texas, August 1984

U.S. Fifth Circuit, Court of Appeals, March 1987

U.S. Supreme Court, February 1990

U.S. Tax Court, April 1991

Qualified Mediator in Probate, Trust, Guardianship                               and Estate Disputes

Employment

1/1/99 - Present        Crain, Caton & James, Shareholder and Past President, practice limited to probate, trust, guardianship, elder law and end of life issues and related litigation, including trial preparation and appeals of contested probate matters; handle and assist with recoveries on behalf of minors and other incapacitated adults in all phases and types of guardianship proceedings, representation of creditors of decedents’ estates, creditor, elder law issues and appellate matters in these related areas.

9/1/85 - 12/31/98      Cenatiempo & Gardner, Shareholder, supervising and han­dling complex probate and trust litigation, including trial prepa­ration and appellate briefs; handle contested guardianship proceed­ings as well as representation of creditors of decedents' estates.

Teaching

Adjunct Professor at South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas: Teaching Estate Administration & Guardianship in 2001-2009.

Lecturer for Themis Bar Review in the area of Probate, Trust, Estate Administration and Guardianship for 2010-2011 Texas Bar.

Honors

H Texas Magazine – Houston’s Top Lawyers 2007-2010

H Texas Magazine – Houston’s Top Lawyers in Elder Law 2007-2010

Named one of Best Lawyers in America 2006-2010

Texas Monthly Top 50 Female Attorneys in the State of Texas 2006-2008

Texas Monthly Top 100 Attorneys in Houston 2006-2008

Texas Monthly Super Lawyer 2003-2009

Houston Modern Luxury Magazines 2006-2008

H Texas Magazine voted as one of Houston’s Top Lawyers for the People 2006

H Lawyer Magazine, Top Lawyers in Houston—Wills, Probate and Trust for 2005-2008

Named a Top Adviser: J.K. Lasser’s “New Rules for Estate and Tax Planning”, written by Harold Apolinsky, Esq., EPLS, and Stewart H. Welch, III, AEP, CFP, Copywrite © 2005 by Harold Apolinsky

Publications

Co-Author:       Dementia and Its Effect on Legal Capacity, National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), publication pending Fall 2010

Co-Author:       The Texas Probate Practice Guide for West Publishing Company, 2000 and supplemented annually

Editor:            The Texas Guardianship Manual for the State Bar of Texas, 2003 and supplemented periodically

Author:      Project Runaway Designing a Defense to Malpractice Claims Asserted Against Probate and Trust Lawyers by Clients and Third Parties, published in Community Property Journal, Texas Tech Law School, Volume 1, February 2009

Author:      Expert Testimony in Capacity and Commitment Proceedings published in the Texas Bar Journal, September 2006

Author: Contingency Planning:  The Texas Practitioner’s Guide to Powers of Attorney and Other Alternatives to Guardianship published by the State Bar of Texas , Austin, 2004

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

Texas Lawyer, article “Probate Top 10 Changes,” January 1998

Texas Lawyer, article "Representing the Poten­tially Incapacitated"; April 1997

Texas Lawyer, article "How to Avoid Sudden Death When Trying Personal Injury Cases in the Probate Court"; November 1996

Professional Speaking and Related Materials

State Bar of Texas, Texas Paralegal Division CLE, Division 1 CLE Seminar, Topic: Guardianships: Guardianship of the Estate, Guardianship of the Person and Ad Litem Appointments, February 2010

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  Topic: To Grandmother’s House We Go….(Multijurisdictional Disputes under the Uniform Act), October 2009

State Bar of Texas, Topic: Dementia: Legal and Medical Aspects Impacting Probate, Trust, Guardianship and Estate Matters, June 2009

Texas Tech University School of Law, Topic: Project Runaway One Day You’re in as the Attorney-and the Next Day You’re Out a/k/a Landmines for Lawyers, February 2009

Houston Bar Association, Topic: Making a Molehill out of the Mountain of Possible Fiduciary Claims from a Planner and Litigator’s Perspective, February 2009

Tarrant County Probate Bar Association, Topic: Expert Witnesses in Probate Proceedings, September 2008

Hidalgo County Probate Bar Association. Topic: Promoting the Proposed Ward’s Well-Being, January 2008

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  Topic: Choice of Law Issues: An Outline on How It May Impact Litigation; November 2007

South Texas College of Law.  Topic: Trustee’s Duties and Obligations: Practical Problems, September 2007.

Texas Bankers Association.  Topic: Fiduciary Liability of a Trustee, May 2007.

State Bar of Texas, Advanced Elder Law and Advanced Guardianship Courses 2007.  Topic: Promoting the Proposed Ward’s Well-Being, March 2007.

Tarrant County Probate Bar Association Litigation Seminar. Topic:  Will Your Notes Nail ‘Em?, September 2006.

University of Texas at Austin School of Law.  Topic: Recognizing Various Fiduciary Relationships, Duties & Issues that Commonly Arise in Guardianship Proceedings and Related Litigation, August 2006

The Center for American and International Law. Topic: Planning for Incapacity and Other Litigation Issues, May 2006

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  Topic: How to Recognize and Represent Clients with Diminished Capacity; March 2006

Houston Bar Association Wills & Probate Institute 2006.  Topic: Fiduciary Risk Management, February 2006

Tarrant County Probate Bar and Guardianship Services.  Topic: Bridging the Gap: When Do Guardianships Begin, November 2005

State Bar of Texas, Advanced Drafting: Estate Planning & Probate Course.  Topic: Drafting for Risk Management, October 2005

South Texas College of Law, Wills and Probate Institute.  Topic:  Investment Plans and Guardianships, September 2005

State Bar of Texas, Contingency Planning: Avoiding the Schiavo Problem in Texas Telephone Seminar, May 2005

National Business Institute, The Probate Process from Start to Finish in Texas, May 2005

State Bar of Texas, Advanced Elder Law and Guardianship Courses.  Topic: Bridging the Gap: When Do Guardianships Begin?; April 2005

San Antonio Estate Planners Council, Docket Call in Probate Court.  Topic:  “Estate Administration A to Z”, February 2005

Houston Bar Association, Wills & Probate Institute. Topic: “Avoiding Antagonistic Administration—Tips, Traps, Tricks and Treasures; February 2005

National Alliance of the Mentally Ill, Fort Bend County Chapter.  Topic: “Guardianships”, November 2003

State Bar of Texas, Advanced Drafting Estate Planning and Probate Course. Topic: “Will Your Notes Nail You?”  October 2003

Tarrant County Probate Bar and Guardianship Services.  Topic: Settlement Agreements; October 2003

Houston Bar Association, Topic: Guardian’s Duties; February 2001

Houston Chronicle, Topic: What Is your Mine and Ours; January 2001

National Business Institute, The Probate Process from Start to Finish in Texas.  Topic:  The Probate Process from Start to Finish in Texas, November 2000

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  Topic: Joint Defense Agreements in Probate and Trust Litigation; November 2000

Tarrant County Probate Bar and Guardianship Services.  Topic: Current Issues in Guardianship Administration and Litigation; October 2000

State Bar of Texas, 24th Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course.  Topic: Gettin’ Down to Bidness: A Survey on Economics, Practice Management and Life Quality Issues for Texas Estate Planning Attorneys at the Turn of the Century; June 2000

University of Houston, Business and Estate Planning.  Topic: Avoiding Dependent Administration; May 2000

Professional Activities

Fellow American College of Trust and Probate Counsel,  Subcommittee Chair for Malpractice and Ethics Committee, 2010, Subcommittee member of Fiduciary Litigation, and Elder Law Committee, and member of the Arbitration Task Force

Texas Bar Association:

    • Past Presiding Member District 4-B Panel 12           Grievance Committee 1993 - 1994

•     • Past Guardianship Subcommittee                          Chair, Committee Member Real Estate,                      Probate and Trust Law Section

National College of Probate Judges, Previous Member

Past President and Officer, Women Attorneys in Tax and Probate.

Past Treasurer, Association of Women Attorneys Scholarship Foundation. 

Past President, Disabilities & Elder Law Attorneys, Houston, Texas 1993

Member, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Guardianship/Capacity Special Interest Group Steering Committee

Member, Houston Business & Estate Planning Counsel - HBA Real Estate, Probate Trust Section, State Bar of Texas Section

American Bar Association

    • Probate and Trust Law

Undergraduate Education

1978        Bachelor of Business Administration,                          May 1981, University of Texas, 1981,                          Austin, Texas

Legal Education

1980 to 1983 Doctor of Jurisprudence: December 1983, Cum Laude, South Texas College of Law, Houston, TX