Beneficiaries Archives

Enjoyable Things a Third-Party Special Needs Trust Can Be Used For From Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen

A Third-Party special needs trust (SNT), sometimes known as a “Supplemental Needs Trust”, allows an individual to provide for a disabled beneficiary without jeopardizing the beneficiary’s eligibility for needs-based government benefits. These SNT funds can generally be used to pay for almost anything that falls outside the basic support that programs such as Supplemental Security Income […]

Have You Checked Your Beneficiary Designations Lately? From Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen

You regularly check the balances of your retirement, bank, and investment accounts. But when was the last time you checked the beneficiary designations on these accounts (and really, all the other accounts that allow you to name a beneficiary)? It may have been years since you first opened an individual retirement account, bought a life […]

Michael Jackson’s Estate Sells Music to Sony for $600M From Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen

Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, but the settling of his estate continues more than 15 years after his death due to a lingering tax dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other legal challenges, including a lawsuit brought by his mother over a deal to sell part of his music rights to Sony […]

Pros and Cons of Naming Many Residuary Beneficiaries in a Will or Trust from Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen

You have meticulously created your estate plan to ensure that it includes and addresses all of your most important assets (accounts and property). You have reviewed your asset list repeatedly, and everything seems to be accounted for. But what if you have forgotten something? Are you willing to update your plan every time you acquire […]