Houston residents may face a time in life when they are dealing with probate issues that they never imagined would be a problem. For some, they may unexpectedly be a named beneficiary in a will or trust. For others, they may find that they expected to be the recipient...
Year: 2017
Digital assets important focus in estate planning
Although spending time on Facebook or other social media sites is a popular pastime in modern society, determining in advance what will happen to a social media account when the account owner dies is often ignored. Estate plans in the state of Texas and elsewhere...
Estate planning may be impacted by new president
The start of the year is an ideal time to revisit an existing estate plan or to create a brand new one. After all, with a new president often comes new policies. There are a couple of issues that may be worth paying attention to this spring in the area of estate...
Most Americans have not engaged in estate planning
The handling of financial needs at the end of life is one area that tends not to get much focus in American households, including in the state of Texas. After all, it is generally not comfortable to talk about death. A recent survey indicated that nearly 70 percent of...
“Undue influence” in estate administration
"Undue influence," is a legal term that many Texas residents might not be familiar with. It can come up in contract situations, but for the most part our readers will likely hear this term in regards to estate planning. Trustees, executors and fiduciaries, along with...
Estate planning involves choosing beneficiaries
When the topic of creating an estate plan comes up, creating wills is often the first idea that comes to mind. Part of the process of creating a will in Texas is choosing beneficiaries of the assets that will be passed on after one dies. The beneficiaries chosen in...
Making a will to avoid Texas intestate laws
For many different reasons, Texas residents avoid the issue of estate planning. For some, they just don't like the idea of making a plan for when they die. For others, it is just a form of willful neglect: they know they need to have a will or some other form of...
Strategic use of Miller Trusts in estate planning
As our population ages, more and more of us are finding the need for long-term care such as that provided by assisted living facilities, home health aides, residential care communities and nursing homes. These types of caregiving, which range from minimal, part-time...
The biggest parts of estate administration
Being named the executor of an estate is a big responsibility. First and foremost, it shows the trust that the a person had in you -- trust that you would be the right person to address the many different issues that can pop up in the process of estate administration....
Estate planning helps children with mental illness, addiction
The parents of children who are struggling with mental illness or addiction are usually understandably preoccupied with taking care of their children. Unfortunately, this means that, in many cases, they are too busy to contemplate who will care for their children...