Wills

As we prepare to celebrate Valentine’s Day, let’s take a moment to ruminate on how judges through the ages have addressed love and affection. We’ll start with Justice Jackson of the US Supreme Court, who authored a dissenting opinion for a 1942 case involving two people who had left their homes and respective spouses and set up housekeeping as husband and wife. Jackson first lamented that the case involved three...

This year will mark the beginning of my 5th decade of practicing law. Lawyers traditionally commemorate such a major milestone by reflecting on how the practice of law has changed over the years. I won’t be doing that. The truth is that the practice of law has not changed in the last 40 years. Lawyers act today like lawyers acted 40 years ago. Judges still act like judges and clients still...

Millennials and Gen X, listen up. Estate planning is not merely for the elderly.  Covid has taught us that, if nothing else. Consider that one-fourth of the 800,000 Covid deaths have been people younger than 65. Many more young adults have had Covid, survived, and are now dealing with the long-term effects. There were 8.7 million diagnosed cases for adults aged 18 to 29, and over 12 million for adults aged...

This may come as a shock, but most of us have gotten gifting wrong for years.   The problem is that we associate gifts with traditional celebrations: birthdays, anniversaries, holidays such as Christmas. It is the event, not the recipient, that sends us frantically shopping. Without the event, we likely would not have given a gift to the recipient.     Put that way, traditional gifting sure seems backwards.   It is time to repackage the...

Dear New Widow(er): Your friends here at the federal government join me in sending condolences for your loss. We want you to know we are here for you.  To help get things started, we have structured a few special tax deadlines that you really do not want to miss. No wasted time grieving here! One deadline that may seem a bit silly, given that the estate tax exemption of $11.7 million, is...

Beware your financial institution. It can be the downfall of your estate plan. You and your financial institution have a contract. The terms of that contract can be found in your bank account signature card, beneficiary agreement or similar account agreement. You signed it when you opened your account. Financial Institution Restrictions Financial institutions can, through their contracts, impose restrictions on how you style your accounts and name beneficiaries. Those restrictions often...

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;...

The storybook picture of aging looks something like this: grandfather sitting comfortably in his cozy chair in his tidy home, beverage of choice at hand, his multi-generational family gathered ‘round as he relates yet another folksy, but morally instructive, story garnered from his long and fulfilling life. The alternative picture of aging looks something like this: grandfather, thirsty and alone, sitting in a worn chair in his dirty home surrounded...

Speaking of costly decisions……. Dad had 3 sons. He wrote a will that left one of his sons, Charlie, a savings account worth about $150,000.     Then Dad died leaving a total estate of $1.5 million. His will was admitted to probate and shortly thereafter the executor transferred the $150,000 savings account to Charlie.   After Charlie assumed ownership of the savings account, he sued to set aside the will. He calculated that his...

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...

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 Is An Epitaph? Epitaph n. An inscription on a tomb, showing that virtues acquired by death have a retroactive effect. Following is a touching example: Here lie the bones of Parson Platt,/ Wise, pious, humble and all that,/ Who showed us life as all should live it;/ Let that be said — and God forgive it! Short Epitaph Examples Your epitaph may be your last and best chance to rewrite your history. Do...