Jordan Monk Reber, PC

Focus and practice areas

The firm concentrates on estate law and the tax and business questions that come with it. Its site names four areas of work: estate planning and probate, business succession planning, tax planning, and estate or trust conflict resolution. The lawyers keep their practice inside those four. In my opinion, that tight focus is worth noting, since it tells a client what the firm does day to day.

The firm dates back to 1994. The about page says the partners had worked together before they founded it. The clients it describes include high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and owners of closely held businesses. Those clients often carry estate questions and business questions at once, which lines up with the mix of services the firm keeps.

Each of the four areas connects to the others in practice. A person who owns a company needs a will and a plan for the business at the same time. A tax plan shapes both of those documents. The firm groups these areas together, and for the clients it names, that grouping fits the way their affairs actually work. A client can bring the whole picture to one office.

How the team is built

The firm has seven lawyers along with support staff. Its attorney page names William D Jordan, Roy J Monk, David J Reber, Ron R Cresswell, Paul T Nipper, Donald A Swanson Jr., and Lisa A Clark. The page also lists Charles R Johnson with the years 1934 to 2011. Three of those surnames, Jordan, Monk, and Reber, run through to the firm's own name.

The firm reports more than 140 years of combined experience across estate planning, probate, business and tax planning. Spread over seven lawyers, that figure points to a group with long time in the field. Lisa Anne Clark practices probate law in Dallas and attended the University of Texas School of Law.

Each name on the attorney page carries a marker that shows whether the lawyer holds board certification. That single detail gives a reader a fast way to gauge the credentials on the roster. The firm also keeps support staff who work alongside the lawyers on client files.

What board certification signals

Five of the seven attorneys are Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The attorney page marks each certified lawyer with an asterisk. William D Jordan, Ron R Cresswell, Paul T Nipper, Roy J Monk, and David J Reber each hold that certificate.

The Texas Board of Legal Specialization sets a bar that goes past holding a license. It asks for a set number of years working in the field, a written exam, references from other lawyers and judges, and continuing education to keep the certificate active. In my opinion, five certified lawyers out of seven in one field tells a reader where the firm has spent its time.

Board certification also has to be renewed. A lawyer keeps it by staying active in the field and meeting the education requirement each cycle. That means the asterisks on the page reflect where each lawyer stands today.

How estate planning and probate usually proceed

Estate planning work usually starts with a look at what a person owns and whom they want to provide for. The lawyer then drafts the documents that carry out the plan: a will, one or more trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives. Good drafting here aims to make the later steps simpler for the family. The plan gets reviewed again when the law changes or the family situation shifts.

Probate is the court process that follows a death. The executor files the will, proves it, and carries out the terms under a judge's oversight, with debts paid and property passed to the people named. Texas gives executors a route called independent administration, which keeps much of the work out of repeated hearings once the court admits the will. That route tends to save families time and cost.

Estate and trust conflict resolution comes into play when the paperwork is read in more than one way. Relatives may disagree over what a will means. A beneficiary may question how a trustee has handled money or property. These matters can move to mediation or land in a probate court, and the path depends on how far apart the parties stand.

Succession and tax matters up close

Business succession planning deals with what happens to a company when an owner retires, dies, or steps back from the work. The plan sets out who takes over, how ownership passes, and how the business keeps running through the change. For an owner of a closely held business, this planning protects both the company and the family that depends on it.

Tax planning threads through all of this. The way a transfer is structured changes what an owner and their heirs owe, so the tax work and the estate work get done together. The firm lists tax planning as its own area, which suggests the lawyers handle these questions in house.

Trust administration is its own strand of the work. A trustee has to follow the terms of the trust, keep records, and account to the beneficiaries. When a trustee and a beneficiary read those duties differently, the conflict resolution area is where the matter gets sorted. The firm's mix of planning and dispute work means the same office can draft a trust and later help when questions come up about it.

Where the firm works

The firm works with clients across the northern Dallas area and further out. The site lists Dallas, Collin, and Denton counties, along with Coppell, Frisco, Highland Park, South Lake, Park Cities, and Trophy Club. The main office is in the Bent Tree Green Building in north Dallas.

One detail rewards a careful reader. The about page text names a Frisco address, while the sidebar on every page points to the Dallas office as the main location. Anyone planning to visit in person would do well to confirm the address before going.

The firm also handles estate matters statewide, beyond the counties and towns it lists. According to the site, that reach includes people who live outside Texas and need to settle an estate here.