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Vacek & Freed, PLLC: The Houston Estate Firm Founded by an Attorney Still Practicing After 55 Years

Albert E. Vacek, Jr. has been licensed to practice law in Texas since 1972 — 55 years as of this writing — and remains an active, practicing attorney at the firm bearing his name, rather than an emeritus figure. Houston Business Journal cited his firm’s trust work in its coverage of Forbes’ wealthiest-heirs rankings, a rare instance of a boutique estate firm drawing outside financial-press attention.

Origin and Background

Vacek & Freed, PLLC maintains Houston offices at 11777 Katy Freeway, Suite 300 South, Houston, TX 77079, confirmed through the firm’s own site and Justia attorney records. Albert E. Vacek, Jr. earned his B.A. from Tulane University in 1969 and his J.D. from Baylor University School of Law in 1971, and has practiced continuously since 1972. He holds board certification in Estate Planning and Probate Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, independently confirmed through Avvo and Martindale-Hubbell records. He is a former Adjunct Professor at South Texas College of Law and a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Practice Concentration

The firm concentrates on estate planning, revocable and irrevocable living trusts, IRA inheritance trusts, and wills and powers of attorney, along with probate and trust administration. Firm materials state that three attorneys at Vacek & Freed are board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization; Awesome Attorneys independently confirmed board certification for Albert Vacek, Jr. specifically. See this Houston Estate Planning & Probate directory for how this multi-attorney firm compares to solo practices also serving the Houston metro area.

Notable Work / Track Record

As is typical for an estate planning practice, the firm does not publish a table of case results, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify one — this practice area centers on trust and estate documents rather than litigated outcomes. What is independently verifiable is Vacek’s continuous, single-practice-area career spanning over five decades and the Houston Business Journal’s 2010 and 2009 coverage of the firm’s trust-planning work, including an article on trust structures designed to protect beneficiaries from predatory claims.

Client Voice

Client reviews describe Vacek as someone who “does a wonderful job of taking care of his clients,” with one review specifically describing a free trust seminar that addressed the attendees’ concerns clearly enough that they scheduled a private follow-up appointment without hesitation. A separate reviewer working with the broader firm, coordinating an estate matter from out of state, praised the team for explaining the process in plain language “every minute” without making them feel talked down to. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a pattern of negative or critical reviews warranting disclosure.

Beyond the Courtroom

Vacek is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and has served with the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section, along with a former adjunct teaching role at South Texas College of Law. Awesome Attorneys did not identify separate non-legal civic or nonprofit board service documented for him.

Recognition for This Houston Estate Planning Firm

Albert Vacek, Jr.’s Board Certification in Estate Planning and Probate Law from TBLS is independently confirmed across Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, and Lawyers.com attorney records. Awesome Attorneys distinguishes this examination-based, peer-administered credential from marketing-program directory placements, which involve self-submission rather than a state-administered exam.

Texas Legal Backdrop

An IRA inheritance trust — one of the firm’s stated focus areas — is a trust structure designed to hold inherited retirement account proceeds so a beneficiary receives creditor and divorce protection unavailable to an outright inherited IRA, while still complying with federal required-distribution rules. Texas has no state estate or inheritance tax, though the federal estate tax may still apply to larger estates depending on the exemption amount in the year of death. Texas Estates Code Chapter 401 governs independent administration, letting a named executor act with minimal ongoing court supervision once appointed. None of this is legal advice; a specific trust or estate plan should be evaluated by a licensed Texas attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

Albert Vacek’s clearest differentiator is five and a half decades of unbroken, single-practice-area experience at a firm that has drawn independent business-press coverage of its trust work, paired with client reviews that specifically credit clear, jargon-free explanation. The honest trade-off is that a firm this established, with multiple attorneys and a Katy Freeway office removed from downtown, may not offer the highly individualized, single-point-of-contact experience some clients want from a solo boutique. For a Houston-area family seeking a board-certified, multi-decade trust and estate practice with a documented track record of plain-language client service, that combination is a reasonable basis for a shortlist.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from Vacek & Freed, PLLC’s official website (vacek.com), Albert E. Vacek Jr.’s Avvo, Martindale-Hubbell, and Lawyers.com attorney profiles, Justia firm records, and Houston Business Journal coverage of the firm.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by Vacek & Freed, PLLC prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.