Estate Planning

How do you spell “relief” in 2021?     F-L-E-X-I-B-I-L-I-T-Y. As in travel, work location, masking, and estate plans.   Estate plans?  Unfortunately, yes. Many estate plans originated decades ago and have been rendered obsolete by family, economic and tax changes.  Most estate plans can be changed. A modification here, a restatement there, perhaps a revocation followed by an execution of a new document – all possible. Other estate plans, however, are unavoidably tied to the...

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...

Lurking just beneath the surface of every will are the “secret” terms – those default provisions that the law helpfully inserts when the document is otherwise silent. They can undermine the best of estate plans.   These provisions are not highlighted anywhere. There is no caution light that flashes to notify you of the danger. This is just knowledge that most estate planners – and a very few other souls –...

Cryptocurrency is finally becoming accepted in the estate planning world. It just received another big boost in Texas with the enactment of HB 4474, the Virtual Currency Bill. You certainly cannot ignore cryptocurrency, with its $2 trillion valuation, but you probably want to be cautious for now.     What is Cryptocurrency Here is an abbreviated explanation. Cryptocurrency is digital cash. It is transacted through a blockchain, which is the name for the...

Estate planning focuses, necessarily, on how your assets should pass to your chosen beneficiaries at your death. However, proper estate planning should also address what can be done to help you out during your lifetime, in the event you are incapacitated. If you are unconscious or otherwise laid out and cannot make your own decisions, you need to be assured that the right people are making your decisions for...

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...

Let’s talk probate. At some point in your life, you may find yourself an administrator, a beneficiary or a creditor of a probate estate. You may even want this information for planning your own estate. Listen up.   Administration of a Probate Estate At its most basic, probate involves assets, debts and distribution. The administration of a probate estate involves the collection of all assets owned by and all claims owing to...