The reasons you, as a trustmaker (in Texas referred to as a grantor), create a trust are certainly special and important to you, but your intent or purpose for creating a trust can also have significant legal ramifications. For this reason, it is often critical that a grantor express in writing a statement of intent, which […]
A number of married couples think about their accounts and property as “yours, mine, and ours,” especially if either or both spouses have gotten or will be getting remarried, married late in life, or have brought or will be bringing significant amounts of money and property into the marriage. Deciding what should happen to all of […]
Bankruptcy may be one of the last things on your mind when you are creating an estate plan. Fortunately, the number of bankruptcy filings has declined over the past several years, but there were still a whopping 544,463 bankruptcy filings in 2020.[1] What happens to your estate if you file for bankruptcy protection but die while […]
Parents strive to make their children feel equally valued as reflected in the fact that, when setting up an estate plan, parents typically divide their accounts and property equally among their children. But while parents strive to treat their children the same, they simultaneously acknowledge that children have different needs at different times. And these needs […]
Mortality it a touchy subject. No one likes thinking about when they’re going to die. They like contemplating the death of their spouse, or how their spouse and children will cope with their own death even less. This can be an especially touchy subject when young couples are building an estate plan together. The thought their […]
When using trusts in estate planning, a key element includes transferring the trustmaker’s real estate into the trust by recording a real estate deed with the local recording authority. This step is crucial for ensuring that the trustee has the authority to manage and ultimately sell or transfer the property should the trustmaker become incapacitated or […]
Nothing lasts forever. While trusts can stretch across generations and keep valuable money and property within a family, no trust has unlimited funds or an interminable time horizon. Every trust, at some point, will end. The reasons why a trust might terminate can vary, but in general, termination occurs because the trust has accomplished its purpose. Meaning, […]
It is okay to not be okay. Removing the stigma of mental health starts with realizing that many people—about one in five of all US adults–are affected by mental illness. Understanding this fact can lead to more people getting the help they require, not only by seeking guidance from a mental health expert, but also by […]
