Have you noticed that life keeps getting more and more complicated? Things that we thought we knew and understood seem to not be as simple as they once were. An area of law that is often misunderstood in this manner is community property. In Texas, community...
The process of getting a divorce touches literally every part of your life – including your estate plan. How would you feel if after your divorce was over and you thought everything had been taken care of, your ex-spouse was still involved with the disbursement...
When a person creates a trust, it is important for them to change ownership of assets out of their individual name and into the name of a trust. For example, a home originally owned by John Doe would be changed to show that John Doe,...
You want to help others. You like the idea of leaving a legacy. You want to make sure that your hard-earned assets are utilized with your charitable goals in mind. You want to make sure that nothing is wasted in bureaucratic nonsense. Just saying, "I give...
Trusts—as opposed to wills—are more like contracts and are designed to not have to be proven in court. If they don’t have to go to court, then they generally don’t have to adhere to a particular state’s laws. However, there are some exceptions, particularly: If you’re...
Probate, estate, and property law are very state-specific. While all American probate, estate, and property law is deeply rooted in old, feudal, English law, there are idiosyncrasies from state-to-state that could have a big impact on your estate planning. This begs the question, what type...
First and foremost, congratulations! If someone named you as a trustee or successor trustee, that person must have thought that you are smart, trustworthy, and organized. Being chosen as a trustee is a pretty big compliment. But, just like Uncle Ben told Spiderman: “With great power...
Death avoidance permeates our culture. More than 50% of our neighbors don’t have an estate plan in place detailing distribution of assets let alone any written funeral and/or burial instructions. We, as a culture, hate to admit that we are getting older and do NOT...
Who is on first? What’s on second? Who all needs to be involved in writing an estate plan? Partnering with a highly qualified attorney is paramount when crafting a plan that disposes of your assets, plans for your medical care and strategizes for the care...
Life has very few guarantees. Paying taxes and dying are two guarantees that impact every single person no matter gender, socio-economic status, religion or ethnicity. We pay taxes every year and talk about how much we like or dislike taxes with just about anyone who...