As the project started, I began looking for people who knew a whole lot more than me! Whether someone calls it ‘God’, a ‘higher power’, karma, or whatever, I was fortunate to come across two special people who made major contributions to the research and more.
Michael McQueen.
Of course I met Michael at a Mexican Train party; where else? A lakeside resident with a perfect background. Early on, Michael told me he’d be an ear for all of my questions, but He Was Not Attending One Meeting Of Any Type!!
OK, Michael; no meetings! He has been a great ‘ear’ and a great resource!!
His wife tells me that he “did more for the Aging of Texas and the United States than almost anyone [she] knew.” Besides his 28 years as an Area Agency on Aging Director, Michael is responsible for the first Day Care Centers in Texas, over fifty Senior Centers, Testified at the 1981 White House conference on Aging, sat on several boards such as the Harrington Foundation, United Way, Northwest Texas Hospital, Jan Werner Day Care, Bivins Foundation, Rape Crisis, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Texas Mental Health Authority, TX Panhandle Community Action, Officer of National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, AARP and more!!
Michael has a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and Psychology, West Texas State University, a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology, was a Levi Strauss Foundation Scholar at the University Southern California Andrus Gerontological Center, Certification in Gerontology at North Texas State University Center for Studies on Aging.
Raoul Rodriguez Walters.
Absolutely Key to the legal research for this project is Raoul, who has a financial/estate planning practice (see www.mexadv.com).
Raoul came with a perspective and experience in broad-based planning….which means that he could look at the issue (i.e., durable powers of attorney; Part II of Life Planning in Jalisco) and conduct research across US or Mexican states, depending on what was needed, and not confine his efforts to one topic or geographical area.
I first came across Raoul’s work while looking at the website for ‘Lakeside Women’s Fairs’ and found “How Foreign Residents Can Avoid Losing Control of Their Estates.” Hmmm; interesting! So, I wrote with my first batch of questions to see if I’d get a response. A response I got, and in detail, and with enthusiasm!! From there, a dialogue emerged.
A bit of advertisement for his firm,
Mexico Advisor . . . . . . provides international financial planning advice to Americans that want to make Mexico their home and to Mexicans with US interests. Raoul, as a US CFP® who has lived abroad close to 30 years, has firsthand experience advising clients with international interests in the areas of taxes, estates, real property and risk management advice. In addition to US-Mexico cross-border planning, Raoul has developed an additional niche, addressing the unique tax and financial opportunities and challenges faced by Americans who work with the United Nations, regardless of where in the world they are assigned.
The firm is recognized as one of the first to work exclusively in the area of cross-border financial planning and is a founding member of the Cross-border Financial Planning Alliance, the only network of independent international financial planning firms and specialist advisors.
Other Resources:
Also see the post on Legal Professionals used to obtain or verify legal information.
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