Houston Probate & Estate Administration Law Blog

Houston residents who have created their estate plans might think they have their ducks lined up, but simply creating an estate plan is not the end of the matter. It is very important to periodically review the plan to ensure that it is up to date. A lot might have changed since a trust was created or beneficiaries named, and the estate planning documents may no longer be appropriate. Things change, and so should trusts.

Just creating the trust documents might have been so daunting that reviewing it might seem even more tedious. However, since the main documents are already in place, reviewing it does not have to be a lengthy process. One can start at the table of contents, if there is one. Look at the successor trustees to determine if the appointed people are still alive or trustworthy. Do they get along with the rest of the family or do they cause conflict?

Many Houston residents may have sent off their children to college this fall and in between wondering how quickly time passes and how they are going to change the extra bedroom into a gym, they neglect to think about essential updates to their estate plan. When a child is born, parents likely update their estate plans to nominate a guardian for them in case something happened to the parents. Now that the children are older, there are a new set of issues an estate plan should consider, including how to continue financially supporting a child without letting other people take advantage of them.

One way to do this is by creating a trust. A trust can distribute one's estate over time, preventing them from using the money all at once or getting taken advantage of by someone else. Additionally, it can provide for reasonable expenditures to be covered while precluding distributions for unreasonable expenses. Assets in a trust are also protected from the decedent's creditors.

It's important to remember that a will is merely one tool available to people looking to put together an estate plan. Depending on one's specific situation, there may be other tools that should also be used to create a good plan. These other tools could include trusts and powers of attorney.

Not long ago, we discussed some of the different kinds of powers of attorney that are available to Houston residents putting together their estate plans. Each kind of power of attorney has its own purpose, and the kind chosen and the powers delegated should be customized for the principal's estate planning situation. It is sometimes a complex task to do this and to integrate the power of attorney into the principal's overall estate plan.

Have you ever used an image of your pet as your profile picture on social media? Do you include your pet in your family or holiday pictures? Does your pet travel with you on vacation? Perhaps your animal sleeps in your bed, sits on your furniture and even eats from your dishes. Certainly, your dog or cat provides you with comfort and consolation even when you are at your worst.

Even if you don't share your bed or your food with your animal, you are probably like many in Texas and across the country who consider their pets part of the family and spend a great deal of money for veterinary care, grooming, treats and special foods. Unfortunately, many animal owners fail to provide for those basic items for their pets in their estate plans.