If you and your family own valuable and important assets, such as real estate or businesses, you may worry about what could happen to your wealth if debts or other financial issues become a problem. However, you can act before problems arise to protect your or your family’s wealth through asset protection planning. The law…
After a person passes away, estate administration can formally transfer their property to the heirs entitled to inherit from them. However, an affidavit of heirship may provide a more efficient alternative to traditional probate when winding up a deceased loved one’s estate in Texas. But under what circumstances can you use an affidavit of heirship…
After you’ve written your will, you may have significant life changes that make parts of your will outdated. You might consider updating your will, but how do you update an existing will without starting over from a blank page? Fortunately, Texas law provides an option for updating a will without writing a completely new one….
Permanent physical incapacity or advanced age may lead a person to require long-term care for their medical and personal needs. However, such care can become incredibly expensive. Individuals may require Medicaid benefits to help with the cost of long-term care. They might use a Miller trust to qualify by allowing an applicant to meet the…
You may decide to leverage the benefits of trusts to pass on your wealth to your loved ones. However, trusts require careful planning to ensure you do not inadvertently exclude valuable assets from your estate plan. Pour-over will provide a powerful tool to help maximize the effectiveness of your other estate planning strategies, such as…
Families with substantial assets have complex financial and tax planning needs, especially when developing an estate plan to manage wealth and pass it on to subsequent generations. Some high-net-worth families can achieve their financial, legal, and philanthropic goals by incorporating a charitable lead trust into their estate plan. But when might a charitable lead trust…
When a couple begins planning to manage and pass on their assets after death, they may assume they must do so through a simple will. However, some couples may benefit from creating an A/B will-testamentary trust instead. A/B trusts can offer significant tax advantages and the ability to protect wealth. But how do A/B trusts…
Families who have loved ones with special needs may worry about their eligibility for government benefits that can help pay for care, especially if their loved one receives significant sums of money through a settlement, court judgment, or inheritance. A special needs trust is one of the major types of irrevocable trusts that can provide…
Many people write wills to direct the distribution of their property to loved ones and other beneficiaries after their death. However, when a person leaves a will, does their executor have to go through probate? Knowing the requirements for probate in Texas can help your family prepare for the process of administering a deceased loved…
During the estate planning process, you might consider creating various types of trusts to help you manage and pass on your assets. Trusts fall into two categories: irrevocable and revocable trusts. Each category has different features and serves specific purposes, including asset protection, tax planning, qualifying for government benefits, and avoiding probate. As a result,…
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