Texas Lawyer Succession Planning Handbook

Preface:

This handbook is built as an operational manual, not a statutory index. A Texas lawyer who wants a practice-continuity plan should begin with Part One and then complete the appendices in the order presented. A custodian attorney who has been asked to assist with a practice closure should begin with the First 72 Hours Checklist, then move to the chapters on client notice, file transfer, confidentiality, and trust accounts.

The central Texas concept is the custodian attorney. A custodian attorney is a Texas attorney licensed and in good standing who is voluntarily designated by another Texas attorney under Texas Rule of Disciplinary Procedure 13.04 to assist with final resolution and closure of the appointing attorney's practice. The custodian is not automatically successor counsel for any client.

Publication Control Warning:

Do not use this book as a generic succession-planning guide for the public. It is a Texas law-practice succession and closure manual. Marketing it as a general estate, business, or family succession-planning product would weaken buyer fit and increase legal-risk ambiguity.

Chapter List:

• Part One - Texas Practice-Cessation Architecture
• 1. Texas Succession Planning as Client Protection
• 2. Texas Source Map and Working Vocabulary
• 3. Cessation Events and Risk Triage
• 4. Court-Supervised Practice Cessation Under TRDP 13.01-13.03
• 5. Voluntary Custodian Attorney Designation Under TRDP 13.04
• 6. Ending a Custodianship Under TRDP 13.05
• Part Two - Custodian Operations
• 7. Choosing the Custodian Attorney and Alternates
• 8. Custodian Attorney, Successor Counsel, and Conflict Controls
• 9. Confidentiality and Limited File Review Under TDRPC 1.05
• 10. Client Notice, Consent, and Transfer Instructions
• 11. Active File Triage and Deadline Protection
• Part Three - Money, Property, and Closure
• 12. Trust Accounts and Safekeeping Property Under TDRPC 1.15
• 13. Deceased Lawyer Trust Accounts Under Texas Estates Code Chapter 456
• 14. Withdrawal and Termination Duties Under TDRPC 1.16
• 15. Digital Access, Cloud Files, Vendors, and Office Records
• 16. Malpractice Insurance, Tail Coverage, and Claims Notice
• Part Four - Special Scenarios and Annual Controls
• 17. Death, Disability, Disappearance, Suspension, and Abandonment
• 18. Transition, Sale, Retirement, and Professional-Entity Wind-Down
• 19. Annual Review System for the Planning Lawyer
• 20. Instructions for Personal Representatives, Family Members, and Staff
• Appendices A-V - Texas Forms, Checklists, Templates, and Source List