Here is yet another example of why you should review your will and other estate planning documents at least every five years.  The facts date back 70 years, when a mother and father created a written trust for each of their four sons. Each trust was set to terminate when the particular son turned  30 years old.  Several years later, one of their sons, Bart, married. Shortly after Bart’s wife gave...

John Madden would be proud. When I explain the difference between probate and non-probate assets to clients and seminar attendees, I usually produce a diagram that is worthy of the most elaborate of football plays. Life insurance policies, helpfully marked with an “L”, are jumping over probate estates to end up with beneficiaries, “O’s”, and real estate arrows straight downward through the will, “W” of course, to be sold and...

“Foul deeds will rise, / Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes.” — Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 2) Understanding Real Property and Title in Texas Jane purchased a house with 5 acres. She named it “Little Farm.” Little Farm is considered real property. Jane’s ownership of Little Farm meant that she held title to that real property. Transferring Title Through a General Warranty Deed Jane eventually sold Little Farm to David. Her...