P. Keith Staubus

Keith Staubus is a 1983 graduate of Southern Methodist University Law School. He has dedicated his practice for the past 40 years to probate, guardianship and trust litigation, as well as to the probate of wills and estate administration. His knowledge, experience and the ability to produce results has earned him the selection by his peers as a Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyer, a recognition given to less than five percent of all Texas lawyers as featured in both Texas Monthly and Texas Super Lawyers magazines in 2005, and 2009-2024. He has also been rated by the premier legal rating service, Martindale-Hubbell, as an “AV” preeminent rated attorney, the highest rating available achieved by a small percentage of Texas lawyers.

Keith was selected to serve as the Chair of the Probate, Trust and Estate Section of the Dallas Bar Association, has served as a guardianship mentor to other attorneys in the Dallas Bar Volunteer Attorney program, has spoken on probate, guardianship, and trust issues for the State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association, and other local Texas Bar Associations. He also assisted in revising the Dallas Bar Probate Section’s forms manual for attorneys.

He began his career with a larger Dallas law firm offering a broad civil practice, and rose to the level of partner in less than 5 years. Although his practice has always been heavily concentrated in the probate court, he gained valuable trial experience in the firm’s litigation department, including business and commercial litigation, bank litigation, and litigation in family district court. He left this firm in 1992 to form a probate boutique practice, and has practiced exclusively in the probate boutique setting since that time. This broad litigation experience equips him to handle any lawsuit in the probate court, or estate or trust-related litigation in the county or district court.

Keith recognized the need for a probate litigation boutique firm to effectively handle lawsuits in the probate court. “Probate, guardianship and trust litigation involves a unique and technical area of the law, requiring a depth of knowledge and experience that can only be developed from years of trying these cases in the probate court.” He also believes strongly in the team approach to estate litigation. “Litigation in probate court is furiously emotional, high stakes litigation which requires the fire power of a team of highly-trained and knowledgeable probate litigators.”

His probate litigation practice includes prosecuting and defending will contests. He has spoken a number of times to Bar Associations concerning will contests, including the Texas State Bar’s 2010 Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course, speaking on “Undue Influence and Lack of Capacity: How Much Evidence is Enough?” A copy of the paper can be viewed here About Undue Influence and Lack of Capacity: How Much Evidence is Enough?.

Keith also handles fiduciary litigation including actions to remove or defend from removal executors and administrators, suits for accountings and for distribution of assets, and suits for breach of fiduciary duty. Other related probate litigation includes litigation over the characterization of community property, suits challenging right-of-survivorship, annuity and life insurance beneficiary designations, and creditor’s claims. He has litigated heirship disputes, including claims of common law marriage, and heirship claims by illegitimate children.

His guardianship practice includes applying for and defending against guardianship applications, pursuit of actions arising out of elder abuse, financial exploitation, and the misuse of powers of attorney, actions to remove and/or defend from removal of guardians, and the representation of guardians in a wide variety of lawsuits. He is certified by the State Bar of Texas to serve as an attorney ad litem.

His trust litigation practice includes risk management advice to both individual and corporate trustees, actions to pursue modifications or terminations of trusts, suits regarding the validity and interpretation of trusts, and the representation of trustees and beneficiaries in fiduciary litigation actions for accountings, breaches of fiduciary duty, trustee removal actions, suits concerning distribution and investment issues, and suits ancillary to pending district court actions.

Keith has substantial experience in litigation concerning limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and other closely held businesses arising out of family disputes and trust disputes.

He also has substantial experience in probating wills, and in administering solvent and insolvent estates as both a court-appointed administrator, as well as representing executors and administrators. He has been appointed on a number of occasions by statutory probate Judges to pursue litigation on behalf of pending estates.

He has also served as an expert witness in litigation involving trusts, estate issues, and guardianships.

P. Keith Staubus

online at

visit superlawyers.com

In the pursuit of our clients' cases, we utilize recognized experts, including forensic psychiatrists, forensic accountants, hand-writings experts, and investigators.

Frequent Asked Questions

Estate planning is the arrangement of transferring a person’s assets and property after their death. The estate plan you create may consist of cars, homes, life insurance, assets, real estate, jewelry, and other types of personal property. When you create an estate plan, you must sign it in front of a notary public.

Even if you don’t have many assets, it’s still a good idea to create an estate plan, so that loved ones won’t argue over who gets what when you pass away. Your estate plan will ensure everything you own goes to specified parties and doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.

Typically, those with extensive or complex assets will hire an estate planning lawyer to help draft their will. Many use a will to divide personal property, such as a home, among their family members. When you’re preparing your will, you need to make sure you meet specific legal requirements. Having a witness present when you’re signing the documents is crucial.

Of course, it’s possible to draft a will on your own, especially if you don’t have significant assets to leave behind. However, hiring an estate planning lawyer can ensure that your documents comply with current law, and that everything gets divided among your family the way you want, so there’s no confusion.

A power of attorney is a legal document giving power to one person (an agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated. When you create a power of attorney, you can designate a specific person and decide how much authority they will have.

An attorney-in-fact would maintain records of all decisions made on your behalf. Some decisions could include recommending a guardian for dependents or minor children and financial decisions. They could also make decisions about healthcare.

If you allow your power of attorney the authority to stop, give, or withhold medical treatment, you can leave instructions on which services you want and don’t want, when to stop life-saving measures, and when to cease specific treatments.

It’s devastating to lose a loved one, and the last thing anyone wants to do is handle their affairs. However, you must ensure property and assets go to the right people, and everyone follows their final wishes.

The first thing you should do when your loved one passes away is to request a copy of a legal pronouncement of death. You should also notify close friends and family of their death. If necessary, arrange for the supervision of dependents or minor children. You’ll also be able to find instructions on how to move forward with their plans from their will or trust.

A trust is a document that places your assets into a trust fund to transfer to a beneficiary upon your death. Most people will create a trust to speed up the process of settling their estate. You can also protect your assets, reduce taxes, and prevent probate.

With a trust, you’re not only able to control who your assets go to but also how the money gets disbursed. This is especially beneficial if the person you’re leaving money to doesn’t know how to save and spend properly. You can create a payment schedule with a specified amount paid to them on a weekly or monthly basis, rather than as a lump sum.

What Our Clients Say

"I recently had the occasion to hire Mr. Staubus for a hotly contested Guardianship matter. Mr. Staubus brought a rare combination of effectiveness, reasonableness and understanding of the human element involved. Mr. Staubus handled all things in a calm, highly competent, effective and reasonable way. It could not have been as easy as he made it seem. He's a credit to the Bar."

Jody

"Without exception, the legal service, professional attitude, prompt communication of your firm and your legal knowledge is second to none. I only wish I had an attorney here in Boston that could hold a candle to your experience and expertise. Working with you has been a pleasure, but even more, has made me believe that there are knowledgeable attorneys that do care about doing a good job. Thank you Keith! You may not truly understand how much of an impact you are having on peoples lives, but for me, you have helped change my life. As I begin making my dreams come true I can't help but remember none of this would be possible without you."

Joann

"Keith Staubus and Julie Blankenship and their team represented me in a jury trial in the probate court where the ownership of the business which I had worked hard to build was at stake. They successfully fought to preserve my business and my professional reputation, working masterfully to gain the support of the jury. I would not hesitate to hire them again in any bet-the-company litigation.”

Karen

"After my husband's death, I was devastated by having to defend against a vicious dispute over my husband's estate. Julie Blankenship and Keith Staubus made me feel very comfortable in this distressing situation. They were very tough and did an excellent job for me in obtaining a summary judgment in my favor without a full jury trial. I was glad to have them and Diane Walker in my corner to help me achieve an excellent result - I won! If I ever had to go back to probate court, I would hire them again.” - (will and trust construction case)

Flo

"If you need intervention for someone you love but don't know where to turn or who to turn to, Julie Blankenship and Keith Staubus helped me through the most difficult and stressful time in my life with a much loved family member. I now believe that good will triumph over evil. They fought for what was right, and good prevailed." (contested guardianship and will contest)

Janet

What planning we can sue for?

When a loved one dies, and the execution of their estate plan begins, many disputes can arise among family members. Despite the decedent's creation of a good estate plan, problems can occur if a power of attorney doesn’t perform their duties or someone’s unhappy with the division and distribution of assets.

The most common disputes estate lawyers see include:

Bad fiduciary selection

A majority of disputes arise when the power of attorney, executor, or trustee doesn’t correctly perform their duties when their loved one dies. That failure is called a breach of fiduciary duty. Common breaches include:

Failure to file tax returns
Using assets for personal benefit
Failure to provide tax and accounting information to beneficiaries
Dividing and distributing assets improperly

To avoid these issues, you should ensure your loved one chooses the right fiduciary during the process of planning their estate. Careful selection can ensure there’s no breach of duty, and they act in the deceased’s best interest.

Will or Trust Contest

When someone contests a trust or will, it’s either because they don’t think it’s legally valid or believe someone influenced the creator into making decisions they didn’t want to make.

To be legal, the creator of the will must sign under specific circumstances and in a particular manner. In Texas, the person must meet the following requirements:

Be at least 18 years of age;
Be of sound mind, meaning they’re able to make decisions and understand the consequences of a will;
Sign the will themselves;
Signature of at least two witnesses; and
List at least one beneficiary.

Improper execution of a will is less common than undue influence. Many will argue that the creator of the trust or will made their decisions because of another party. The person accused of undue influence could be a friend, caregiver, professional advisor, or family member.

Distribution of property

Sometimes conflicts will arise when the creator of a will or trust intends to leave someone their property but dies before they can change their estate plan to reflect that decision. Other instances create conflicts when beneficiaries believe the distribution of property is unfair or inequitable.

How should I handle estate law disputes?

If you come across the disputes listed above or any other types of disputes, there are options for resolving them. The remedy you choose will depend on the particular conflict and the people involved.

Remove the executor: If there’s a problem with the executor of the estate, you might need to replace or remove them. Finding a replacement can be difficult, especially finding one that all parties are happy with. However, it’s the best decision to ensure everyone is satisfied with how the estate gets handled. The best choice would be a neutral third party who doesn’t hold any biases.
Litigation: To litigate a dispute, you must be an inheritor and have sufficient grounds for pursuing a lawsuit. Most people will litigate if they believe there was an improper distribution of the property or suffered a financial loss because someone mismanaged the estate.
Mediation: This is the best option for individuals who want to settle the issues amicably, timely, and inexpensively. Mediations usually bring about quick results and cost less than litigation. You also have complete control over the outcome because there isn’t a judge or jury involved.

The Firm

The attorneys at Staubus, Blankenship, Legere and Walker PLLC have over 100 years of combined experience in estate planning, probate, and litigation. We have the knowledge and skills to tackle complex legal issues, such as guardianships, will contests, fiduciary litigation, and trust litigation. We can also handle routine matters, such as estate administration, probating wills, heirship determinations, and other probate court matters.

Staubus, Blankenship, Legere and Walker PLLC received a preeminent AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest rating possible from a peer-rated legal service. This rating recognizes our hard work, dedication, and the case results we’re able to achieve.