Education

Austin College

B.A. in Political Science & Communication Arts, 1994

South Texas College of Law

J.D. 1999

Admissions

Texas, 1999

Memberships & Activities

State Bar of Texas

Certified Attorney/Guardian Ad Litem

Disability and Elder Law Attorney Association (DELAA) Advisory Committee and Past President

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA)

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Texas Chapter Officer and Former Board Member

2020 NAELA Magazine Texas Chapter Member Spotlight

HBA Elder Law Committee Member and Former Co-Chair: Will-A-Thon Volunteer & Attorney Mentor

HBA Probate, Trusts & Estates Section Member

Board Certifications

Certified Elder Law Attorney – CELA

Awards

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer-Reviewed

H Texas Magazine Top Lawyers 2014 & 2015

Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2008 & 2010

Super Lawyers 2021, 2022

Best Lawyers in America® 2022-2024

First Annual LBJ Civil Rights Award South Texas College of Law 1999

Best of the Best Curators Pick 2022

Best Lawyers “Women in the Law” 2023

Joy’s practice focuses on Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate, Guardianship, Trust Administration, and Special Needs and Public Benefits Planning and Administration. She is a Certified Elder Law Attorney with the National Elder Law Foundation and has 24 years of experience in:

• • • Estate planning & probate and trust administration
    • Initiating guardianships and representing guardians
    • Advising on trust and estate issues
    • Long-term care planning
    • Disability planning including individual, court-created, and pooled special needs trusts and advice regarding ABLE accounts
    • Supplemental/special needs trusts
    • Preparing and executing wills, trusts, power of attorney, declarations of guardians, etc.
    • Preparing, accounting for, and administering court-created trusts
    • Fiduciary Defense and accountings

While attending South Texas College of Law Joy was awarded the Inaugural LBJ Civil Rights Award. Prior to joining Rapp & Krock, PC, she was a Trust Officer at Bank of Texas.

Representative Matters

• • • Represented multiple clients in matters involving their lifetime planning and planning for disposition of their assets after death.
    • Counseled and represented numerous Executors, Trustees, and Administrators in multiple Texas counties on various probate administrations.
    • Counseled and represented numerous Guardians in multiple Texas counties on various guardianship issues.
    • Counseled and represented clients in protecting their estates and estates of their loved ones from the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program.
    • Counseled and represented clients with loved ones with disabilities as it relates to gifting and inheritance.