Life is full of contingencies. While some outcomes are relatively certain, other events are more difficult to predict. This uncertainty can create estate planning challenges. Because life changes quickly and sometimes unexpectedly, your estate plan needs to be flexible. You can make changes to your estate plan when you are still alive, but when you pass […]
When you form a trust as part of your estate plan, one of the most important decisions you will make is who will oversee the trust’s management when you are no longer able to manage it (this person is known as your successor trustee). Because a trustee’s work may be time-consuming, complicated, and risk liability, many […]
When people create estate plans, they typically focus on handing down their money and property to their children, grandchildren, and other living heirs. But some people want to leave behind a more enduring legacy. For those interested in multigenerational wealth transfer, dynasty trusts could be the answer. Dynasty trusts are relatively new to Texas. Up until […]
No one wants to pay more taxes than they have to. To carry out this objective, many people search for the perfect estate planning tool that will allow them to control as much of their money and property as possible while reducing the amount they or their loved ones will have to pay the government. If […]
What Is a Blind Trust? Trusts are typically set up for the benefit of a trustmaker’s loved ones, a charitable organization, or a third party, with the trust money and property being distributed to the beneficiaries upon the trustmaker’s death. But there are situations in which a person may want to set up a trust to […]
When someone who has named you as the executor of their will or the trustee of their trust passes away, you are obligated to distribute that person’s money and property according to the document’s terms to the designated beneficiaries. (For convenience, the roles of executor and trustee will be referred to throughout this article as the […]
This blog has touched on some of our favorite estate planning and probate movies, including the 2019 who-dun-it, Knives Out. Revisiting this film in particular, and now we are looking at one of the most dramatic moments of the movie – the reading of the Will. In Knives Out, as well as many other movies, we […]
Every trust has at least three important roles. One, the grantor (sometimes known as the trustmaker), the person who creates the trust. Two, the trustee, the person who manages the property placed in the trust. And three, the beneficiary, the person who reaps the benefit of the trust property. Every trust has at least one grantor. […]
Estate planning is about protecting you and your loved ones. Sometimes this can be a difficult endeavor when there is a loved one who may require additional support at your death. While you may want to give as much as possible to this individual, you may not want to do so at the expense of others […]
About 40 to 50 percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. Regardless of how you feel about your child’s spouse, you must face the possibility that they could become your child’s ex-spouse. Should that day come, the money you leave to your child could be subject to a division of marital assets. […]
