Attorneys

Mr. Ikard is board certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law. He is a past chairman of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. He was a co-founder and past Chair of the Texas Academy of Trust and Estates Lawyers. He has worked for over four decades in legislative matters involving trusts and estates law. For example, he served on the committee that drafted the Texas Trust Code and was the person charged with obtaining its passage through the Texas Legislature. He monitored legislative activities for the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas for approximately ten years.

He is a member of the American College of Trust and Estates Counsel and served for a number of years on its Fiduciary Litigation Committee. He is a past member of the Estate and Trust Litigation and Controversy Committee of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the American Bar Association.

He was selected to Best Lawyers In America, sponsored by Woodward/White publishers, from 1982-2014. He was selected the “Go-to Lawyer” in the State of Texas in the area of Trust and Estates Law by the Texas Lawyer in 2007. He has also been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, as printed in Texas Monthly magazine, in 2003, and 2005-2017, as well as an Austin Super Lawyer by Austin Monthly in 2002, and a member of the Nation’s Top One Percent (by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel) in 2016.

Mr. Ikard has written and spoken extensively in the areas of Probate and Trust Law and Fiduciary Litigation and has been the author of numerous sections of the Texas Trust Code.

Education

• University of Texas, BA, 1965
• University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1968

Professional Activities

Community Activities

• Chancellor’s Council, University of Texas
• Dean’s Round Table, University of Texas Law School
• Board Member, Greater Austin Crime Commission
• President and Board Member, Paramount Theatre for the Performing Arts
• Board Member, Travis County MHMR Board

Publications

• Standing, Capacity, and Necessary Parties in Trust Litigation, State Bar of Texas, 42nd Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate, June 2018
• Probate, Guardianship, and Trust Jurisdiction in Texas, September 1, 2016
• Ten Things That Every Trust Beneficiary in Texas Should Know, May 2014
• Current Developments in Trust Litigation, May 2013
• Pitfalls in Trust Administration, May 2012
• Issues Related to Remote Beneficiaries, State Bar of Texas, 34th Annual Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Course, June 2010
• Exculpatory Clauses, State Bar of Texas, Trial of a Fiduciary Litigation Case, December 2009
• Trustees Duties to Disclose Information to Beneficiaries, June 2008
• Between the Deaths: Planning and Administrative Challenges, Advanced Estate Planning Course, Santa Fe, April 2008
• Utilizing Disclosure Rules to Obtain Discovery in Trust Litigation, Tarrant County Probate Litigation Seminar, Fort Worth, September 2008
• Role of Guardian Ad Litem in a Trust Case. Texas Bar CLE 13th Annual Advanced Estate Planning Strategies Course, 2007
• Trustee Duties and Fiduciary Litigation, Recent Developments In Trust Law. Dallas Bar Association, May 2006
• Fiduciary Liability and Litigation: Are you a Target? Texas Bankers Association Advanced Trust Forum, November 2005
• Recent Developments in Trust Litigation, Tri County Bar Association, January 2005
• Fiduciary Litigation, Dallas Estate Planning Council, September 2004
• Avoiding Fiduciary Litigation, Dallas Estate Planning Council, September 2004
• Fiduciary Litigation, Executors & Trustees, Fiduciary Litigation Seminar, May 2004
• Trust Litigation in Texas, State Bar of Texas Fiduciary Litigation, May 2004
• Negotiating Fee Contracts and Recovering Fees in Fiduciary Litigation, Advanced Estate Planning Strategies, April 2004
• Trust Litigation in Texas, Second Annual Probate Litigation Seminar, October 2003
• Attorney Fee Contracts for Planning and Litigation, Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course, San Antonio, Texas, June 2003
• Negotiating Fee Contracts and Recovering Fees in Fiduciary Litigation, Travis County Bar Association, January 2003
• Banker’s Association Personal Trust Seminar, December 2002
• Negotiating Fee Contracts and Recovering Fees in Fiduciary Litigation, Dallas Bar Association, November 2002
• Discretionary Distributions, 26th Annual Estate Planning & Probate Course, 2002
• Trust Litigation in Texas, Tarrant County Probate Assoc. Litigation Seminar, 2002
• Specialty Drafting Regarding the Fiduciary, Travis County Bar Association, Probate and Estate Planning Seminar,
  March 2001
• Fiduciary Duties: What are They and How to Modify Them, Texas Banker’s Association Estate Administration Seminar, October 2000
• What Property Are You Administering?/Conducting Inventory/Making Consistent Valuation of Assets/Sections 177 and 706 Issues, Co-Author Alvin J. Golden, Wills, Estates, and Probate (A Satellite Production), State Bar of Texas, January 2000

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