Attorneys and Counselors
Wills, Trusts, Estates, Probate
San Antonio, Texas
ABOUT
A Firm Focused Exclusively on Wills, Trusts, Estates, and Probate
We operate in a friendly, professional, drama-free environment where our clients’ needs are our sole concern. We have personally experienced the hardships that death and disability can bring. Because we understand the problems, we approach every situation with compassion, logic, and often a bit of humor.
Attorneys
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Carl Werner
Of Counsel
Carl earned his law license in 1995, at age 38, having previously been a high school English teacher, and then an independent petroleum landman. Beginning his law practice in San Antonio with Cox & Smith (now Dykema), he became Board Certified as a specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law in 2006, and established this firm as a solo practice the following year. Carl has now retired from his active practice, though he always enjoys hearing from longtime colleagues and clients. He provides occasional guidance for other members of the firm, but spends most of his time enjoying home life in Bulverde, and travel, with his (also retired) wife Marjene.
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Kristi Clarke
Kristi earned a B.S. in Psychology at Texas Christian University (summa cum laude) in 1992, with a minor in Business, before moving on to Texas Tech University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude in 1995. An appellate clerkship, then a general-practice law firm kept her in Fort Worth for a time. But in 1999, she began an estate planning practice with the San Antonio office of the Kleberg Law Firm. She joined this firm in 2012.Kristi’s adventures have included scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef and climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia, and visiting Hawaii, Canada, Costa Rica and St. Thomas (Virgin Islands). Having lived in five different U.S. cities by her mid-twenties, she was glad to begin putting down roots in San Antonio. Now, 22 years later, she is happily planted here with her husband Tim, two daughters, and three cats.
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Robert "Bob" Augsburger
Bob is a self-described “Army brat,” both of his parents having served in the Army, and they moved quite often during his youth. He stayed in Denver long enough to earn a degree (cum laude) from the University of Denver in 2002. He selected his major, Communications, only after he learned the school did not award degrees in skiing. After moving to San Antonio, Bob attended law school at St. Mary’s University School of Law (J.D., 2010), where he met his wife Jahannah. He began his legal practice under the tutelage of Judge Polly Jackson Spencer as the Court Investigator for Bexar County Probate Court No. One.
Bob is a member of the Rotary Club of San Antonio, a fellow with the Texas Bar Foundation, and serves on the board of the Deaf Education and Hearing Science Council. He lives happily in San Antonio with Jahannah, their two children, and two Siamese cats.
Managing Partner
Alexis Abercrombie
Alexis is an East Texas native who graduated high school and then went into academic overdrive, earning a B.A. in Business Administration from Austin College (2017) in just three years. She attended law school at the University of Tulsa College of Law (J.D. 2020), obtained her first law license in Colorado, and practiced law for a short time in Denver. However, her significant other, Luke Lionberger, also has Texas roots and it wasn’t long before they decided to return to the Lone Star State. Alexis added a Texas law license to her résumé and is our only attorney who is licensed to practice in two states. She is also our only Beer School graduate, achieved while paying her way through law school as a bartender. Alexis and Luke (and pets Kodak and Dani) are now settled in San Antonio, where they enjoy watching sports, camping, hunting, fishing, and spending time with family and friends.
Candice Contreras
Candice worked and studied in a few major cities before returning home to her native San Antonio, having lived in upstate New York, suburban Philadelphia, and New Orleans. She began working with us in 2017. Realizing right away that she had found her calling, Candice promptly enrolled in the Paralegal Certificate Program at UTSA, where she earned her certification in 2018. Deciding to keep her momentum going, Candice applied and was accepted to St. Mary’s University School of Law Evening Student Program. She began her legal studies in Fall 2019 and graduated in December 2023, all while continuing to work for the firm. With all her schooling behind her (we think!), Candice is now attempting to make her way through her extensive “To Be Read” pile and spending as much time outdoors and traveling and with her loved ones as she possibly can.
Candice’s formidable résumé also includes a B.A. in English from the University of Rochester (2008) as well as a B.A. in Criminal Justice from UTSA (2013). She lives in St. Hedwig with her dog, Riley.
Staff
Denise Gold
Denise is a native San Antonian who earned her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1987. She paid her way through school teaching private flute lessons and working as a part-time assistant in a law firm. That job motivated her to continue in the legal field after graduation. She now has over forty years of legal experience, most of it with San Antonio’s Cox & Smith, where she, Cheryl, and Carl became friends. She is our newest staff member, having joined this firm in 2024. Denise and her sweetheart, Fidencio, are settled in San Antonio where they enjoy laughing at the antics of their two Shih Tzus, Journey & Santana, travelling, and spending time with family and friends.
Cheryl Wenzel
Cheryl brings over forty years of legal experience to the firm, some from her native Rhode Island, and the rest in San Antonio, having moved here in 1997. Cheryl worked at San Antonio’s Cox & Smith (now Dykema), where she and Carl became friends, and she joined this firm in 2020. When you call our office, odds are that Cheryl’s will be the first voice you hear. She and her husband Jeff support Homes for Pets (in Schertz), and the Converse Animal Shelter, so it is no surprise that their household includes multiple “foster fails” (foster cats that Cheryl and Jeff decided to add to their permanent family).
Cheryl has long been associated with the National Association for Legal Support Professionals, the nation’s premier organization for such professionals, founded in 1929. She has earned their certification as both a Professional Legal Secretary (1998) and Professional Paralegal (2010).
SERVICES
WILLS & PROBATE
You have a choice of messages that you can send to your loved ones, after you have passed away. Here’s one: “You’ll need to spend inordinate sums of money and time on lawyers now. I don’t care who is put in charge of my estate, and we’ll let Texas intestacy law dictate who gets what. Good luck.” Here’s a different message: “I know you’re hurting, but don’t worry about the legal stuff. I left you a Will that is designed to make things go as smoothly as possible.” Is there a third alternative message? We don’t know of one.
TRUSTS
Trusts are the multi-tool of estate planning, able to solve a wide variety of problems. Do you have a child who is too young, or too inept with money, to be given an inheritance outright? A spouse who will need protection from creditors and predators? An adult child whose spouse shouldn’t be allowed near your hard-earned worldly assets? Are you concerned about death taxes or family disputes after you’re gone? Let us help you design a Trust that anticipates and prevents these troubles.
INCAPACITY PLANNING
Maybe you’ll never be ill, or injured, or weak of mind, to the point where you can’t take care of your financial affairs. If you’re lucky, and you can avoid those things, then you don’t need a plan. But what if you’re wrong, and disability strikes? If you don’t have a Durable Power of Attorney, you’ll be giving your spouse or other family members an unnecessary legal mess. If you don’t have Medical Directives, someone else will have to make health care decisions in your place. Why not designate that person, in writing, now, and let them know your wishes?
FIDUCIARY ISSUES
Being a fiduciary (such as an Executor or Trustee) requires a person to hold property and legal power, solely for the benefit of someone else. It imposes on a person the most stringent of legal standards: competence, fairness, transparency, compliance with legal requirements, and more. It isn’t an easy job. We represent fiduciaries, to guide them safely across unfamiliar terrain. And there is another person’s perspective to consider: the beneficiary, who must depend on a fiduciary to behave properly. We represent beneficiaries when a fiduciary goes astray, to prevent self-dealing and help beneficiaries enforce their rights. Handled properly, fiduciary/beneficiary disputes can often be fairly resolved without expensive and hurtful legal proceedings. With the wrong lawyer, someone is going to the courthouse or to the poorhouse.
CONTACT & DIRECTIONS
Werner & Augsburger
11010 Coachlight
Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78216
Contact: Cheryl@Carlwernerpc.com
