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Biography
Yolanda is chair of the Wills, Trusts and Estates Practice Group of the Tax Section. Yolanda's practice focuses on estate planning and family wealth transfer for individuals and families within and outside the U.S. She has experience in income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax matters; complex estate planning; tax planning for closely held businesses; estate administration matters; dispute resolution involving families and their entities; and creating, administering, and long-range planning for private tax-exempt charitable institutions, including private foundations. Her practice also includes an administrative practice before the IRS.
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Representative
Experience
Cross Border Estate Planning
- Pre-immigration estate planning
- Coordination of estate tax and inheritance laws of US and foreign jurisdictions
- Planning for U.S. persons expecting inheritances from non-US family members
- Advising non-U.S. persons with respect to U.S. gift and estate tax and Texas probate law matters
Estate Planning
- Designing and implementing estate plans to meet the family and philanthropic objectives of clients in a tax-efficient manner
- Assisting individuals and families in designing and implementing succession plans to transfer ownership and management of family enterprises
- Assisting clients in creative approaches to dealing with difficult wealth-related family issues
- Assisting in structuring tax efficient settlements of family disputes including contested probate and trust matters and in connection with the dissolution of marriages
Estate Administration
- Assisting executors in the administration of large and complex estates including important art, closely held businesses, minerals, ranches, etc. through initial probate, preparation of federal estate tax returns, audit by the Internal Revenue Service, and funding of bequests
- Assisting estates and individuals with negotiating and selling important art directly or through auction houses
Private Foundations and Public Charities
- Assisting clients in the creation of private foundations, including formulating their mission statement
- Advising private foundations with respect to changes in state and federal tax laws
- Assisting private foundations in creating and implementing succession plans
- Assisting both donors and recipient charitable institutions with structured gifts and bequests, federal tax and federal and state compliance matters
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Activities and Affiliations
- Member: Advisory Committee of The Greater Houston Community Foundation; Tax Section, American, Texas, and Houston Bar Associations
- Listed: The Best Lawyers in America in trusts and estates law, 2003-present; Texas Monthly: “Texas Super Lawyer”, 2004-present; "Top Trust and Estates Lawyers," Bloomberg Personal Finance, 1999; "Best Trusts and Estates Lawyers in the U.S.," Town and Country, 1998
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Education and Professional Background
- Vassar College, B.A., 1970
- New York University Law School, J.D., 1979
- Admitted to practice: New York, 1980; Texas, 1987
- Other Language: Spanish (written and spoken)
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