The Danger of Using Online Forms
The following is educational and informative only. Do not rely on the following as legal advice. Online services and form repositories now offer blank documents for the creation of wills, the formation of corporations, and even divorce. But how safe and effective are these blank forms? One Texas family found out the hard way, that […]
7 Unexpected Problems Affidavits of Heirship Cause at a Real Estate Closing
Some realtors think that using an affidavit of heirship to clear title after the death of the person selling real estate is a short cut or is less expensive than probate of a will. Realtors have referred clients to us in the following seven situations because the affidavit of heirship was not a short cut […]
My Executor will run the Business Just Like I would: Not!
If you don’t have a specific provision in your will or trust that specifically gives your business to your beneficiary following your death, your executor, personal representative, or administrator may end up running your business. Texas Estates Code Section 351.201 et seq gives the probate court or a court sitting in matters probate authority to […]
Why Someone with a Million Dollars Must Plan for Long Term Disability
A key deficiency in the process of planning for long term care occurs when seniors fail to provide for orderly distribution of assets at death and fail to let their family know what to do when the senior can no longer handle his or her own affairs. Estate planning from a qualified estate planning attorney, […]
Simple Plans Cause Mistakes for 10 Unique Families
Your unique family needs a unique will and trust. Using a simple plan for a unique family could cause problems for these unique family circumstances: 1. Single child. If your child inherits your assets, dies, and leaves everything you gave him or her to his or her spouse, and your child’s spouse remarries, the replacement husband or wife […]
Top 2 Social Media Sites after Death
What is your online legacy? We all have one. We have email, Facebook, Linked In, and Shutterfly. Some of us only use the internet for email and others of us store all of our family photographs in the cloud. Are these assets – email letters and photographs – things that you want to bequest to […]
Texas Estates Code Replaces Texas Probate Code
The Texas Probate Code was repealed effective January 1, 2014, and the Texas Estates Code was made effective beginning January 1, 2014. The Texas Legislature intended for the new Estates Code to be a non-substantive recodification. This means laws in the Estates Code should be the same as the laws in the corresponding Probate Code […]
What Does an Executor or Personal Representative Do Anyway?
Executor’s Duty What does an executor or personal representative do anyway? Here is a list of actions the Executor or Personal Representative either should or must take, depending upon the circumstances. This list is not a substitute for legal advice. This list is not exhaustive. There may be additional actions that need to be taken. If […]
“Estate and Gift Taxes in the Wake of the Fiscal Cliff Compromise”
With the “Bush-era” tax cuts due to sunset and the feared “Sequestration” arising from the Budget Control Act of 2011 about to take effect, many feared the broader economic and political implications of such a convergence of momentous events on January 1, 2013, leading to the imprecise yet catchy term “Fiscal Cliff.” In the days […]