News

Introduction: Texas guardianship laws A guardianship is a court-ordered arrangement in which one person (the “guardian”) is given legal authority to make decisions on behalf of another person (the “ward”). There are two types of guardianships in Texas: 1. Full guardianship – The guardian has authority to make all decisions regarding the ward’s care, including…

Introduction to Probate Law When a person dies, their assets must go through probate before they can be distributed to the beneficiaries. Probate is the legal process of distributing a person’s assets after they die. If the deceased person had a will, the probate court will follow the instructions in the will. If the deceased…

Trusts are commonly used in estate plans to leave assets to minor children, incapacitated beneficiaries, or spendthrifts.  To avoid the expense of guardianship for a minor, a trust is a necessary part of the estate plan for that beneficiary.  Trusts are used for young adults because although the legal age of majority in Texas […]…

Although simple wills are sometimes adequate, planning for the worst-case scenario is the general perspective of the estate planning attorney. You don’t have to be wealthy to need estate planning. The following are facts of a case and solutions from the perspective of the estate planning attorney. Facts: Married couple has $300,000 of cash resources…

Since long-term care Medicaid (which helps pay for skilled nursing care and medications) is “means-tested” (assets of the applicant are reviewed to determine if there is eligibility for the government to pay), there is a five year “look-back” period as there is a presumption resources were purposely reduced so that the government would have to…

Introduction Probate is the legal process of validating a will and distributing a deceased person’s assets to their beneficiaries. In Texas, if someone dies with a valid will, their estate will generally go through probate. However, there are some exceptions. For example, if the estate is small or if all of the assets are held…

If you die without a will in Corpus Christi, Texas, your estate may go to your spouse, children, parents, or other relatives as dictated by state law. However, this is not always the case. If you have any assets or debts that you want to leave to someone other than your spouse, then you will…

A Texas affidavit of heirship is a legal document that declares someone as the heir to an estate. This document can be used when there is no living blood relative who can inherit the estate. The person who signs the affidavit is called the “heir representative.” What is an affidavit of heirship? An affidavit of…

If you have an IRA, you are required to make a distribution annually once you reach a certain age (if you were 70½ prior to January 1, 2020, then you should already be making required minimum distributions known as “RMDs” – otherwise you could be subject to a 50% excise tax). It is common to…