David Lynn Cheatham
David L. Cheatham brings a wealth of legal experience and extensive experience in business, real estate and management to the law firm of Gordon, Sykes & Cheatham, LLP. After managing one of the largest furniture stores in the Southwest as that company's youngest manager in its 100+ year history and developing residential real estate, David graduated, magna cum laude, from Texas Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies, and graduated, cum laude, from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, where he was on the Law Review Board of Editors and served as an Academic Teaching Assistant and summer law clerk intern to the Hon. Judge Terry Means in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division.
David's primary focus areas include probate, guardianship, and trust administration and litigation, as well as commercial and residential real estate transactions and litigation. His sample cases include successfully representing biological children and unknown heirs in contested heirship determinations, successfully defending defendants in a $3.5 million dollar residential real estate lawsuit, and counseling and representing fiduciaries, beneficiaries and grieving family members in contested probate, guardianship and trust lawsuits.
David is a distinguished member of The College of the State Bar of Texas, an honorary society of lawyers whose members are qualified attorneys interested in both high ethical standards and improved training for all Texas attorneys. In addition, David is frequent guest speaker and lecturer, has been named by Fort Worth Magazine as one of the Top Attorneys in Fort Worth in the area of probate law four of the past five years, and is a former member of the prestigious Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court. A native of East Texas, David has lived in the DFW Metroplex since 1990 and proudly resides in his adopted home of Fort Worth, where he serves on the Board of Directors for the Tarrant County Probate Bar and as President of his homeowner's association.
Areas of Practice
- Probate
- Probate Administration
- Guardianship
- Trusts
- Estate Planning
- Business Organizations
- Real Estate
Bar Admissions
- Texas, 2002
Education
- Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, Fort Worth, Texas
- J.D. (Cum Laude) - 2001
- Honors: Dean's List
- Law Review: Texas Wesleyan Law Review, Articles Editor, 2000 - 2001
- Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, Texas
- B.S. (Magna Cum Laude) - 1998
- Honors: Dean's List
- Major: Legal Studies
Published Works
- Kid's Say the Darnedest Things: A Call for...Parent-Child Privilege, 8 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 393, Spring, 2002
Classes/Seminars
- Using Special Needs Trusts and Second-to-Die Insurance Policies to Care for Children with Autism, presented to the Starpoint Academy, Fort Worth, Texas, May 2008; presented to Texas Special Olympics 2009 Winter Games, Austin, Texas
- An Overview of the Texas Probate Process, presented to UOP administrative staff, Las Colinas, Texas, May 2008
- Advising Clients with Small Estates, presented to the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, Fort Worth, Texas, August 25, 2009
- The Top 10 Reasons to Have a Will, co-presented with Karen H. Gordon to the Fort Worth Chapter of the Society of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, Fort Worth, Texas, 2006
Honors and Awards
- Fort Worth, Texas Magazine's Top Lawyers, 2008 - 2009
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Tarrant County Probate Bar, Director, 2008 - Present
- Tarrant County Bar Association, Member, 2002 - 2008
- State Bar of Texas, Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Sections, Member, 2003 - 2008
- NAELA Steering Committee for Young/New Lawyers, 2008 - 2009
- American Inns of Court, Member, 2003 - 2004
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Member
Fraternities/Sororities
- Phi Delta Phi
