AREAS OF PRACTICE

The firm provides our clients with a wide variety of important legal services which include:

Real Estate and Oil & Gas | Estate Planning & Elder Law
Probate, Trust Administration & Guardianships | Trials & Appeals
Business & Business Succession Planning | Criminal

 

 

Real Estate and Oil and Gas

Our firm has broad experience in handling residential, farm and ranch, and commercial real estate transactions, oil and gas matters, and related litigation, including representation of:

• buyers, sellers and lenders in residential, farm and ranch, and
   commercial real estate transactions;
• lessors/lessees of commercial or residential real estate;
• developers, builders, and lending institutions in the construction and
   financing of homes, apartments, and commercial real estate ventures;
• landowners in litigation of title problems, easements, rights of way,
   condemnations (eminent domain), and other real estate problems;
• royalty and mineral owners in the negotiation of oil, gas, mineral and
   mining leases;
• landowners, royalty and mineral owners, and oil companies in
   determining title and providing title opinions; and
• landowners and royalty and mineral owners in litigation over oil and gas
   leases, competing mineral interests, and the enforcement of debts and
   liens for drilling services.

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Estate Planning and Elder Law

Regardless of the size of your estate or the nature of what you own, we can assist you in developing an estate plan that best meets your needs and wishes. We provide a complete estate planning service, including preparation of:

• simple and tax-planned wills;
• living trusts;
• irrevocable trusts;
• gifts to family and charity;
• pre- and post-marital agreements;
• conservation easements;
• powers of attorney;
• directives to physicians;
• family limited partnerships and other business entities; and
• all other documents relating to estate planning.

We stand ready to advise you regarding the estate, generation-skipping, inheritance, and gift tax implications of any estate plan and the distribution of your property. We also can prepare your gift tax and estate tax returns. We will work cooperatively with your accountant, financial planner and all of your other trusted professional advisors.

We can also assist people with planning for Medicaid services, including creating qualified income (Miller) trusts and special needs trusts. We can help with resolving disputes with care givers and nursing homes.

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Probate, Trust Administration and Guardianships

We represent executors, administrators, beneficiaries and heirs in connection with the probate and administration of estates, including litigation of contested matters. No matter what size the estate is, we can handle all legal matters related to the estate administration, including:

• probate of will and appointment of executor or administrator
   (independent or dependent administration);
• heirship proceedings;
• handling of creditor claims;
• preparation of inventories and accountings;
• preparation of estate and gift tax returns;
• estate distribution and settlement;
• mediation;
• family settlement agreements;
• will contests; and
• representing executors and administrators before the IRS.

We also represent trustees and beneficiaries in connection with funding, administering, modifying and terminating trusts, and in litigation of contested trust matters.

We are experienced in guardianship proceedings and guardianship litigation, and we represent guardians in connection with the preparation and filing of required annual accountings and administering guardianship estates of any size.

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Trials and Appeals

When you have a dispute with another person, business, or institution that requires court action, our firm can represent you in any resulting lawsuit or litigation. We have broad experience before the courts, including cases concerning:

• personal and commercial contracts;
• bodily injury;
• real estate disputes;
• debt collection;
• will contests;
• contested trust and probate matters;
• contested guardianships;
• breaches of fiduciary duties;
• insurance contracts;
• banking matters;
• defective products or workmanship; and
• condemnation actions (eminent domain), involving the taking of property from property owners by power, pipeline, and other public companies.

We are also experienced in alternative dispute resolution such as mediation and arbitration.

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Business and Business Succession Planning

We represent individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations in all types of business activities. We can assist you in forming business entities that best meet your needs, including:

• corporations;
• limited liability companies;
• professional associations;
• limited or general partnerships; and
• proprietorships.

We also can assist you with your business operations, including:
• asset or stock purchase agreements;
• buy-sell agreements;
• mergers;
• reorganizations;
• dissolutions;
• collections;
• commercial and secured transactions;
• securities;
• banking;
• employment; and
• deferred compensation.

Our firm has assisted many family businesses to transition from one generation to the next, helping to provide solutions for family members who are working in the business and those who are not.

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Criminal

Larry Urquhart in our firm represents and counsels clients charged with a misdemeanor or felony offense, including:

• drug offenses;
• DWI/DUI;
• juvenile crimes; and
• assault and violent crimes.

Larry Urquhart has extensive experience in the trial of criminal cases at all levels of the state court system. In addition, he frequently represents persons in the appeal of their criminal convictions received while represented by other counsel. Our firm also provides legal counseling and assistance to individuals who believe they have been the victim of a crime and wish to seek prosecution of the offending person by the local prosecuting attorney.

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