{"id":12925,"date":"2024-05-08T06:00:15","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltalktexas.hammerle.com\/?p=12925"},"modified":"2025-06-18T17:42:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:42:03","slug":"30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have now been at <\/span>Hammerle Morris<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for 30 years. In that time, technology has changed but people have remained the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

Technological change has been dramatic. When I started, all legal business was conducted on paper. Today it is done electronically. Email, electronic filing, zoom hearings: all have taken over the practice of law. We have, to the greatest extent possible, gone paperless. Even faxing has become an outdated technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benefits of Changing Times<\/span><\/h2>\n

This has been of great benefit to our clients. Clients deserve to know what is happening with their case. With email, we can send and receive information immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than drive to downtown Dallas, we can now do an uncontested hearing entirely over the computer. When the client or the witness lives out of town, this is of great benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I started, we filed a case by taking the papers to the clerk\u2019s office at the courthouse. Now filings are done electronically.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Consistent Rule About Wills<\/span><\/h2>\n

One thing that has remained the same is the rule about Wills. The original will must still be filed with the clerk of the court to be admitted to probate. And, at least in Texas, there are no <\/span>electronic wills<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What has remained the same is the clients and the legal issues they present.<\/span><\/p>\n

People remain reluctant to confront the legal issues associated with their mortality.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are all going to die someday, and you cannot take it with you. What you can do is make it easier for the people you leave behind.<\/span><\/p>\n

8 Common Misconceptions About Wills<\/span><\/h2>\n

People remain uninformed and misinformed about so many things. Here are a few common examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Wills do not take legal effect until they are admitted to <\/span>probate<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0<\/span>Probate is much easier if you have the original will that provides for an independent executor and contains a Texas form of self-proving affidavit.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. You are not the <\/span>executor<\/span><\/a> just because you are named in the Will; the Judge must appoint you.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0<\/span>Just because property is held in two names does not mean that ownership passes on death by right of survivorship.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Your spouse does not necessarily inherit everything if there is no will, particularly if you have children who are not your spouse\u2019s children.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Some beneficiary designations are revoked by divorce and other designations are not.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Texas is a <\/span>community property<\/span><\/a> state. Property acquired during marriage out of your earnings belongs to both spouses; not necessarily the person in whose name it is held.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Trusts work for property owned by the trust. Often, I must probate a will because the decedent owned property outside the trust.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Avoid Mistakes in Wills With Estate Planning<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Some situations are more likely to create disputes which could have been avoided by proper <\/span>estate planning.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

    Second spouses and children of the prior marriage have adverse interests. I do not think many people intentionally want to create a dispute, but they often do, just from a failure to understand marital property rights and to plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Siblings<\/span><\/a> sometimes do not get along. This has a way of becoming a problem at the death of a parent. Proper estate planning can avoid most of this.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Attorney<\/p>\n

    After 30 Years, Some Things Never Change<\/span><\/h2>\n

    We have come a long way from the manual typewriters and paper files of my youthful lawyer days. But people and their behaviors \u2013 those will never change.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Attorney Robert Morris<\/span><\/i><\/a> is an attorney at Hammerle Morris Law Firm, offering services in estate planning, probate, guardianship, estate and trust litigation, and Medicaid.\u202f Contact him at <\/span><\/i>(972) 436-9300<\/span><\/i><\/a> or <\/span><\/i>schedule a consultation<\/span><\/i><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

    The foregoing does not constitute legal advice. <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I have now been at Hammerle Morris\u00a0for 30 years. In that time, technology has changed but people have remained the same. Technological change has been dramatic. When I started, all legal business was conducted on paper. Today it is done electronically. Email, electronic filing, zoom hearings: all have taken over the practice of law. We […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\nRobert Morris Celebrates 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Attorney Robert Morris is celebrating 30 years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm and reflecting on how some things never change.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Robert Morris Celebrates 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Attorney Robert Morris is celebrating 30 years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm and reflecting on how some things never change.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-08T11:00:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-18T22:42:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert Morris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert Morris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Robert Morris\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e\"},\"headline\":\"Reflections on 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-08T11:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T22:42:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":607,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/\",\"name\":\"Robert Morris Celebrates 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-08T11:00:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-18T22:42:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e\"},\"description\":\"Attorney Robert Morris is celebrating 30 years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm and reflecting on how some things never change.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg\",\"width\":1707,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"A headshot of Attorney Robert Morris.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/news\\\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Reflections on 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hammerle Morris Law Firm\",\"description\":\"Legal Talk Texas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e\",\"name\":\"Robert Morris\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Robert Morris\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hammerle.com\\\/legaltalk\\\/author\\\/robert-morris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Robert Morris Celebrates 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"Attorney Robert Morris is celebrating 30 years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm and reflecting on how some things never change.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Robert Morris Celebrates 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm","og_description":"Attorney Robert Morris is celebrating 30 years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm and reflecting on how some things never change.","og_url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/","og_site_name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","article_published_time":"2024-05-08T11:00:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-18T22:42:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1707,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Robert Morris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Robert Morris","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/"},"author":{"name":"Robert Morris","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e"},"headline":"Reflections on 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm","datePublished":"2024-05-08T11:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T22:42:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/"},"wordCount":607,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/","name":"Robert Morris Celebrates 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg","datePublished":"2024-05-08T11:00:15+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-18T22:42:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e"},"description":"Attorney Robert Morris is celebrating 30 years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm and reflecting on how some things never change.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/05\/5-8-Reflections-on-Thirty-Years-at-Hammerle-Finley-Blog.jpg","width":1707,"height":2560,"caption":"A headshot of Attorney Robert Morris."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/news\/30-years-at-hammerle-morris-law-firm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Reflections on 30 Years at Hammerle Morris Law Firm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/","name":"Hammerle Morris Law Firm","description":"Legal Talk Texas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/#\/schema\/person\/d6a8f983bb816fbbc18fa545051bb60e","name":"Robert Morris","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8200c0843cfbd091d6df3b052bebcaa8d0bf62ac705adddd08a05357cdfc933?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Robert Morris"},"url":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/author\/robert-morris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}