Thomas, Ashlie L. - Gunnstaks Law Office

At GUNNSTAKS LAW OFFICE we take the complex, high-conflict family law cases other firms wont. Contact our Plano family law attorneys at 972-392-2300.

I regret hiring C. Luke Gunnstaks, (aka Carl Otto Gunnstaks) and Gunnstaks Law Firm. Unsatisfactory representation, negligence and unprofessional. UPDATE 01/12/2018: I have in writing from Gunnstaks, that I "would receive all of my money in the IOLTA account he was holding." He later "changed his mind" without notice, when I realized in August 2017 what had happened in my case and began asking for him to be accountable for his actions and also his invoicing and statements. He withheld $25,054.75 from my IOLTA account for the months of Aug. 2017 to the final decree date of 12/04/17 which equals a billing of $6,236.87 a month! There were NO in-person court appearances or mediations and I had to be proactive forwarding documents to Opposing Counsel myself. I also began doing my own research on my case and found many discrepancies from what I had been told during the active time of my case and what was a reality. Thus I began asking more questions in reference to accountability. Gunnstaks then began telling me I was delusional and need psychiatric help. His taking the $25,054.75 was also above and beyond his being paid $18,850.00 in cash, for a Divorce for a couple who were both over 67 yrs. of age, married 10 years at the time and had no children. Grand total received by Gunnstaks: $43,904.75! My name is posted on reviews pending if the review was written during my name change or before. I have not written any other reviews under any other name. Gunnstaks had told me he would have my divorce final by 08/02/2017 and it was not final until 12/04/2017. Instead, he went on a lengthy vacation and stated in his defense when the divorce was not final by 08/02: "Rebecca, this was the first vacation I had in 20 years." There were also many other issues from August 2017 going forward. I was in shock the day of my court appearance, which was immediately after the 2nd Mediation (07/2017), and finding out just this last week, that being "prepared" is also in the form of the fact that Gunnstaks could not provide any handwritten notes for the first Mediation, which he had promised he had the necessary cases to prove up the issues, and didn't! I then wanted to settle and Gunnstaks told me "Rebecca, give me 2 days and I will have the cases!" He later told me he had them. 2nd Mediation, he did not have any cases pertaining to my issue. There are so many other issues, like filling out the original Contract of Services in the wrong name, and filling out a single Limited Power of Attorney in 2 different names, Welter and Watler and changing the date without initializing. Then there's forwarding to me the wrong Divorce Decree to sign for court, or forwarding me a copy to approve for review, and it wasn't even in my name...and changing items on my Divorce Decree without my knowledge or consent and forwarding them on to Opposing Counsel! The list does not stop here either. Gunnstaks was to provide me ALL OF MY ORIGINAL CASE DOCUMENTS and HIS HANDWRITTEN NOTES WERE WITHHELD! He would not forward to me by Certified Mail, so I had to send a 2nd Courier to pick them up. 2nd Courier?... yes, Gunnstaks banned me from his office so I was not able to pick up my own documents and a Courier had to sign for them "blindly" not knowing what was or wasn't being received etc.
This is what he wrote in a Certified Letter to me with a check for the balance of my IOLTA account after he took out "what he thought was fair and reasonable expenses" ($25,054.75):
"It is my sincere hope that you will seek professional mental health care as I have only recently suggested, and I hope that you will faithfully follow any medication recommendations of your treating physician/psychiatrist, in order to avoid being foreseeably found to be a danger to yourself and/or to others by a Judge of a Probate (Mental Health) Court." I feel this to be a threat.
This is because I have asked him to be responsible for his actions and excessive billing.
I do not want Gunnstaks to do to anyone else, what I have been through.

Dallas/Fort Worth Lawyers Who Won't Back Down

Our firm is headed by C. "Luke" Gunnstaks, a Dallas area lawyer in practice since 1991. Before that, he was in a popular Texas band, but decided to become a lawyer after a custody battle revealed how hard it is to find an attorney who will properly advocate for clients and their children.

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