The Benefits of a QTIP Trust in Estate Planning for Second Marriages
Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trusts are useful estate planning documents that can solve a lot of the problems and friction that can develop within the family when a person marries for the second time. The QTIP trust allows a person to make sure that their children from a previous relationship do...
How to Create a Testamentary Trust within Your Will: Protecting Minors and Beneficiaries with Special Needs
Texas law allows people to create trusts through their wills. A trust created through a will is a testamentary trust because the person’s Last Will and Testament created the trust. The trust does not exist until the person who made the will dies. If the person creates a trust while they are...
Probate: Understanding the Process and How to Avoid It
Texas probate is rather simple compared to some other states, but still, it can be worth it to avoid having to go through probate even in our state. This blog will discuss probate: understanding the process and how to avoid it. A Texas estate planning attorney could draft the legal documents...
Business Succession Planning: Protecting Your Business for Future Generations
You have worked tirelessly for many years, made sacrifices, and built a successful business. You do not want your company to die a quick or slow death one day when you step away from the game. You want to leave something of value for your children and grandchildren.
This...
Trust Administration: Understanding the Duties and Responsibilities of a Trustee
If you are considering nominating someone to act as a trustee for your living trust or someone has asked you to be the trustee of their trust, you need to understand the duties and responsibilities of a trustee. When you serve as a trustee, you need to know what you are supposed...
Pet Trusts: Providing for Your Furry Friends After You’re Gone
Many people love their pets more than most people they know, and they worry about what will happen to their pets after the pet owner dies. Texas has a solution for you. Pets Trusts provide for your furry friends after you’re gone. A Texas estate planning attorney can craft a pet...
What Should Same-Sex Couples Consider When Estate Planning?
Same-sex couples have gone through multiple legal hurdles to get recognized as different-sex couples do. Same-sex marriage is now legal under federal law, but these couples still have to think about some unique issues that different-sex couples take for granted. It would be a mistake to assume that the federal law that...
10 Estate Planning Problems of Unmarried Couples
Texas and federal law provide far more protections to married couples than to unmarried couples. This situation is strikingly problematic in the area of estate planning. A Texas estate planning attorney can talk to you about these issues and help you craft documents tailored specifically to your situation and goals.
What You Should Know About Naming a Trust as a Beneficiary of an IRA
You can do a lot of things with living trusts that you cannot do with a standard will or with many other types of documents. People use different types of trusts to avoid probate, reduce the expenses of estate administration, protect beneficiaries from themselves, qualify for help from Medicaid to pay for...
Powerful Provisions in Your Financial Power of Attorney
When you create a financial power of attorney, you try to anticipate all the situations that might happen at any point down the road. A standard power of attorney usually contains some general powers, or the document would be pointless.
This article will discuss some of the powerful provisions...