Roughly two-thirds of Americans do not have an estate plan, according to a recent survey from Caring.com.[1] If you are among the minority of US adults who have prepared a will, living trust, and other end-of-life documents, you may think that your estate plan is settled. But you might want to think again. An estate […]
Trust
What To Do if Your Trustee Is Unresponsive from Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen
The duties of a trustee has been covered by this blog in the past. Long time readers will know that a trustee has a duty under the law to communicate with beneficiaries and keep them reasonably informed as to the progress of the trust administration. In Texas, trustees are required to provide annual accounting of […]
How Long Should You Keep Important Documents? from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen
In a society dominated by information and paperwork, the question of how long to you should keep important documents is baffling for most people. We especially worry about documents of a financial or personally identifying nature. People who worry about losing something important sometimes keep everything; others who worry about things like identity theft often […]
How to Select a Fiduciary for Your Estate Plan from Austin Estate Planning Attorney Liz Nielsen
While the term “fiduciary” is a legal term with a long history, it very generally means someone who is legally obligated to act in another person’s best interests. Trustees, executors, and agents are all examples of fiduciaries. When you pick trustees, executors, and agents in your estate plan, you’re picking one or more people to […]