In practice since 1951
Dedication to the clients’ needs.
An Austin-area law firm for probate, estate planning, tax, general business, and real estate. Founded in 1951, and still guided by dedication and responsiveness to the clients’ needs.
Now in Barton Oaks Plaza, Building Three, Suite 410.
The offices have moved. Building Three sits on the east side of MoPac, directly behind Salt Traders.
The practice, in short
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1951
Robert Mueller, an Austin tax attorney, founds the firm. He died in 1988. Dedication and responsiveness are still the standard.
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Six attorney-CPAs
Garry Vacek, Roy Kiecke, Rudy R. Colmenero, Gregory S. Stieg, Shaye Cly Tackett, and Robert B. Shepherd are attorneys and CPAs.
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Tax department
Shaye Cly Tackett heads the firm’s tax department, with CPAs and an enrolled agent on the tax staff.
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Board certified
Garry Vacek (1995), Roy Kiecke (1995), and Gregory S. Stieg (2005) are Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law.
The firm plans for its own succession, too.
The lawyers help clients with succession planning for family-owned businesses, and they practice succession inside the firm as well. Qualified attorneys of differing ages are how that is done.
A client can be helped with an estate plan now. Later, the firm can help that client’s children and grandchildren with administration of the estate and trusts, even if the original attorney is no longer in practice.
1951
Robert Mueller founds the firm. After his death in 1988, the same two expectations remain: dedication, and responsiveness to the clients’ needs.
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Original clients
The firm has been here since 1951.
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Their children
Some of those clients’ children are represented here now.
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Their grandchildren
So are grandchildren, including when an estate or trust has to be administered.
Practice areas
Probate, estate planning, tax, general business, and real estate. The matters below are the ones the firm lists.
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01
Estate planning
- Wills and trusts
- Powers of attorney
- Family limited partnerships
- Asset and creditor protection
- Business succession planning
- Estate tax planning
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02
Probate
- Estate and trust administration
- Litigation involving executors, trustees, and beneficiaries
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03
Tax
- Income, estate, and gift tax planning
- Returns for individuals, trusts, estates and gifts, partnerships, corporations, S corporations, nonprofits, and private foundations
- Tax controversies with the IRS
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04
Business
- Entity formation: corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations
- Buyers and sellers of businesses
- Business succession
- General business matters
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05
Real estate
- Charitable conservation easements
- Like-kind exchanges
- Hard money lending
- Foreclosures
- Seller financing
- Commercial leases
- Buy/sell agreements
A second reading of papers you already have.
Clients arrive with wills, trusts, partnership agreements, or returns prepared somewhere else. The firm’s estate planning and tax work sits in one office, so those papers can be read again in that context.
Call and describe what you already have. This is a conversation with the firm, not a separate offer.
Attorneys
Eight lawyers, of differing ages, in estate planning, probate, tax, business, and real estate. Board certification is named only where that attorney’s biography states it.
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Garry Vacek
Partner
Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, 1995 · CPA, 1971
Wealth succession, family limited partnerships, entity choice, and income, estate, and gift tax returns. Admitted in Texas, 1974, and to the U.S. Tax Court.
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Roy Kiecke
Partner
Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, 1995 · CPA, 1983
Complex estate planning for families and closely held businesses, personal and business income tax returns, and the purchase or sale of businesses. Admitted in Texas, 1981.
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Rudy R. Colmenero
Partner
CPA (Texas) · Texas Bar, 1994 · U.S. Tax Court, 1995
Business and commercial matters, organizations, estate planning, probate, real estate, and taxation. Spanish-speaking.
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Gregory S. Stieg
Partner
Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, 2005 · CPA, 2001
Estate planning, family wealth transfer, complex estate administration, and fiduciary litigation, plus tax returns and IRS controversies.
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Shaye Cly Tackett
Attorney
CPA, 2003 · Heads the tax department
Estate planning, wills and lifetime documents, and probate, together with IRS audits, nonprofits, family limited partnerships, and entity, individual, and estate returns. University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 2007.
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Robert B. Shepherd
Attorney
CPA (Texas) · Joined November 2019
Estate planning, probate and administration, tax compliance, and business organizations. Texas Bar, 2018; U.S. Tax Court, 2012.
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Jenna Beller Donatiello, JD
Senior Associate Attorney
Texas Bar, 1996
Business entity formation, estate planning and probate, real estate, and general business matters.
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Justin Roberts
Of Counsel
University of Texas School of Law
Federal income tax, with entity formation and structuring, business and real estate transactions, commercial leasing, and estate planning and probate.
Unless otherwise indicated, not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Tax professionals
The tax department sits with the lawyers. Titles below are the ones on the firm’s roster.
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Diane Swinney
CPA
With the firm since December 2008. Licensed CPA since 1988. Individual, corporate, partnership, nonprofit, and fiduciary returns, tax planning, payroll, and matters before the IRS.
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Mitchell Howington
CPA
Tax and tax planning, including personal, corporate, partnership, and trust returns. His biography describes more than 30 years of tax work. B.B.A. in Accounting, University of Texas; M.B.A., University of Houston.
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Bernadette “Bunny” Newby
Tax Compliance
Tax preparer and bookkeeper. Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor. Tax and bookkeeping work since 1991.
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Jeannine Cheshire
Tax Compliance
Bookkeeper and tax compliance. University of North Texas, Denton.
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Sandy Pantin
Enrolled Agent
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Rebecca Liu
CPA
Questions the office can answer
What does the firm handle?
Probate, estate planning, tax, general business, and real estate, for clients in the Austin area. Estate planning includes wills and trusts, powers of attorney, family limited partnerships, asset and creditor protection, business succession, and estate tax planning. Probate includes estate and trust administration, and litigation involving executors, trustees, and beneficiaries.
Where is the office?
Barton Oaks Plaza, Building Three, 901 South MoPac Expressway, Suite 410, Austin, Texas 78746. Mail: P.O. Box 1845, Austin, Texas 78767. Building 3 is on the east side of MoPac Expressway at Bee Cave Road (RM 2244), directly behind Salt Traders. Visitor parking is on the north and south sides of the building and in the garage to the east.
How do I speak with someone?
Call (512) 472-2464. The firm has not posted a public email address or office hours. There is no online scheduler. Fax and driving directions are in the visit section on this page.
Who is board certified?
Garry Vacek (1995), Roy Kiecke (1995), and Gregory S. Stieg (2005) are Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Unless otherwise indicated, attorneys at the firm are not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Does the firm prepare tax returns?
Yes. The tax work includes income, estate, and gift tax planning; return preparation for individuals, trusts, estates and gifts, partnerships, corporations, S corporations, nonprofits, and private foundations; and tax controversies with the IRS. Shaye Cly Tackett heads the tax department.
How do clients send documents or pay?
A secure client portal, a secure file transfer, client resources, a tax newsletter, and online payment are linked at the bottom of this page. A card payment appears on the statement as VKC, LLP.
Talk with counsel
Call the office. There is no online scheduler. The address, mailing address, and fax are below, with directions to Building Three.
Office Barton Oaks Plaza, Building Three, 901 South MoPac Expressway, Suite 410, Austin, Texas 78746
Mail P.O. Box 1845, Austin, Texas 78767
Phone (512) 472-2464
Fax (512) 472-5124
Finding Building Three
The offices are in Building 3 of Barton Oaks Plaza, on the east side of MoPac Expressway (Loop 1) at Bee Cave Road (RM 2244). The complex has Salt Traders and Daymaker in front of it. Building 3 is directly behind Salt Traders.
Driving south on MoPac
Take the Bee Cave Road / RM 2244 / Rollingwood exit, the first exit past Lady Bird Lake. Merge two lanes to the right on the access road so you are in the outside left-turn lane. At the light, stay in the second left-turn lane — the middle lane — turn left, go under MoPac, and continue straight across the southbound access road into Barton Oaks Plaza. Building 3 is the third building.
Driving north on MoPac
Take the Bee Cave Road / 2244 / Westlake Hills exit. At the light on the access road, turn right and continue straight through the southbound access road into the complex. Building 3 is the third building.
Parking
Visitor parking is on the north and south sides of the building, and in the parking garage east of the building.
Call the office.
Phone is the direct way in. The visit block has the Barton Oaks address, the post office box, the fax, and directions.