Living Trusts

minor children
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How to Leave Assets to Minor Children from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

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Most parents want to make sure their children are provided for in the event something happens to them while the children are still minors. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and good friends sometimes want to leave gifts to beloved young children too. Unfortunately, good intentions and poor planning often have unintended results. Don’t make these common, expensive mistakes. Instead, here’s how to both protect and provide for the children you love.

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Adult Children
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How to Leave Assets to Adult Children from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

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When considering how to leave assets to adult children, the first step is to decide how much each one should receive. Most parents want to treat their children fairly, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they should receive equal shares of your estate. For example, it may be desirable to give more to a child who is a teacher than to one who has a successful business, or to “compensate” a child who has been a primary caregiver.

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Estate Planning Dream
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How Estate Planning Can Help You Dream About Your Future from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

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A dream without a plan is simply a wish. Estate planning is not just about death and taxes — it puts you in the driver’s seat of your financial life, allowing you to set achievable goals. It is a great opportunity to focus on the legacy you want to leave behind for loved ones and your community, help you avoid the expense and delay of probate, as well as help you save on taxes.

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Successor Trustee
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What do Successor Trustees and Executors Do? from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

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Executor’s Duties An executor, sometimes called a personal representative, is the person who is named in a will, appointed by the court, and responsible for probating the will and settling the estate. Depending on the state, an executor may work under court supervision or, as is often seen in Texas, may use so-called “independent” administration for […]

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Payable-On-Death Accounts
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Are Payable-On-Death Accounts Right For You? from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

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A payable-on-death account, also called a POD account or sometimes a transfer-on-death (TOD) account, is a common way to keep bank and investment accounts out of probate, the court-supervised process that oversees distributing a deceased person’s property. Most people want to avoid their estate going through probate because their heirs will receive the inheritance faster, privately, and at lower cost.

Is a POD account an appropriate solution for your needs? Let’s examine what POD accounts do and how they fit into the overall picture.

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Austin Estate Planning Lawyer
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Agent Now Has Duty to Preserve Estate Plan from Austin Estate Planning Lawyer Liz Nielsen

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Imagine a situation where daughter is serving as the agent under mom’s financial power of attorney.  Mom’s estate plan provides that her estate will pass 40% to daughter, 40% to son and 20% to mom’s favorite niece.  The main asset in mom’s estate is a nice (and very valuable) Westlake home.  In order to avoid probate on mom’s death, daughter files a lady bird deed, naming daughter and son as the only beneficiaries of the family home.  Does the slighted niece have any recourse?

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