Estate Planning

Call it the law of unintended consequences.  A final divorce, which is certainly consequential, can have all sorts of surprising consequences. Some might be welcome, while others can result in havoc. Revocation of Beneficiary Designations One surprising consequence is the statutory automatic revocation of beneficiary and agent designations made before the divorce is final.  Life insurance is a perfect example. If you named your spouse as the beneficiary of your life insurance, then...

Did you know that you are no longer the legal guardian of your 18-year-old son or daughter? Eighteen is the age of majority in Texas, meaning that after their 18th birthday, young adults are presumed competent to make decisions about health care, finances, and other important areas of life.   Health Care Decisions What does that mean for your son or daughter in their senior year, or graduating from high school and...

Don’t let the grave stop you from harassing a boorish in-law.  Texas thinks it is a fine idea. It is completely legal to write your will in such a way that your daughter does not receive her inheritance until after she has divorced her husband, or he has died. It does not matter that your will could give the impression that the husband is a worthless or profligate husband who...

If you are the grantor, beneficiary, creditor, trust protector, CPA, financial advisor, attorney or trustee of a trust, or if you just generally think trusts are a nifty idea and want to learn more, then you will find this of interest. The Rule Against Perpetuities for trusts in Texas is going on life support as of September 1, 2021 and Texas dynasty trusts are now a real thing. No fooling;...

In the realm of estate planning, there can be a lot of confusion around terminology. Often people come into our offices asking for or about one type of legal document or another, and either they do not understand what they are asking for, or they don’t understand the interplay among various legal documents. In this article, we will address two terms which some people use interchangeably, but which are...

It isn’t often that the folks on the United States Supreme Court talk about the elderly falling at home, but that is exactly what happened in a recent opinion.  What is a Wellness Check?  A wellness, or welfare, check is when police go by a person’s home to check that person’s well-being. To define the issue, we turn to the example given by Justice Kavanaugh: “Suppose that an elderly man is...

Revocable living trusts are often used as an estate planning tool. They are so common, in fact, that many people do not realize they come with special concerns. Below are a few of the issues that often arise. Bank Accounts Bank accounts that are transferred into a revocable living trust can easily exceed the standard maximum deposit insurance amount (SMDIA) insured by the Federal government. That insurance is intended to cover...

What powers are so incredibly dangerous that they were deliberately omitted from a state-wide form?  “Hot powers”, of course.   When Texas developed a new statutory form for the durable power of attorney, it left out an entire section of powers that could be delegated to an agent. These are commonly known as the “hot powers.”   Hot powers were born in 2017 when Texas made its much-ballyhooed change to the durable power...

Many people question whether they need to invest the time and money to have certain legal documents prepared.  Often that question arises when they don’t understand what a particular document does for them.  Here we address one of those essential documents. What Is The Medical Power of Attorney? A Medical Power of Attorney is one of several “ancillary” documents that are regularly prepared along with a Will or Trust as part...

While Texas is among the states that do not require you hire an attorney when buying your house, there are times where an attorney can provide significant value.  A real estate attorney can add value if you are buying a home without a real estate agent, or in the event your transaction involves one of the many complex situations that can arise when buying a house.  Real estate agents...

You have done your research, sought out and considered competent legal and tax advice, and finally decided to sign off on a revocable living trust-based estate plan. Now comes the hard part: funding the trust. What Is A Trust? To understand what and why you are doing that, you need to first visualize the basics of a trust. A trust is simply a written letter to the trustee with your instructions on...

Home. Your home is where your family resides. If it happens that your home is one on a piece of land that you or your spouse owns, then your home is considered your homestead. There is a lot of Texas law about homesteads. The Texas Constitution, the Texas Property Code, and hundreds of cases define homestead rights. That brings us to the subject of probate homesteads. For purposes of estate planning, you...