Beneficiary

Divorces are often draining – financially and emotionally.  As a result, many do not want to incur more costs or even think about different financial arrangements.  However, anytime there is a significant change in your family (death, divorce, disability, births, etc.), your estate plan should be at...

Many disabled individuals live solely on Social Security income but lack sufficient mental capacity to handle the payment of their living expenses.  Social Security (which doesn’t recognize powers of attorney) permits the appointment of a Social Security Representative Payee (Rep Payee) upon proof of disability and...

Husband and wife (“clients”) have 2 adult children.  Once child is disabled and the other is a spendthrift (money is spent as soon as it is received).  The disabled child is on Medicaid and lives in a facility where the drug costs and the great majority of...

We get asked questions every day about probate: what it is, how to probate a will, etc. Here are 12 of the most common Texas Probate questions we receive. Question 1: What is Probate?             Answer: Probate is the process where a court confirms death and determines who...

Guardianship if often an expensive legal process which should be avoided if possible.  Thus, planning should be considered as an alternative to guardianship.  Guardianship is often needed for an incapacitated person.  Texas law defines an “incapacitated person” as: a minoran adult, who because of a physical or mental condition,...

A recent decision of a San Antonio appellate court determined that faulty drafting of an annuity contract by the insurance company who issued the annuity resulted in a beneficiary being paid far more than the contracted terms. The annuity contract provided for payments during the joint...

Ladybird Deeds and Transfer on Death Deeds are used to avoid probate (which is the legal process whereby the court determines if a will is valid and assets are distributed according to the will).  These types of deeds are particularly useful to avoid Medicaid Estate Recovery.  If...

After a 14-year battle over James Brown’s estimated $100 million estate, it appears “good” will finally prevail over the greed of Brown’s 4th “wife”.  The Supreme Court of South Carolina has recently ruled that Tommie Ray Hynie’s marriage in 2001 to the “Godfather of Soul” was invalid...

As a result of a rush to stimulate the economy early in the pandemic, the IRS apparently failed to follow its own procedures (established after recovery from the recession in 2008) and sent 1.1 million stimulus checks totaling $1.4 billion to those who are deceased.  Now...

What would happen in Texas if it were determined either before or after probate that a Will was forged?  This question becomes topical due to the recent determination by a Florida sheriff (after 2 handwriting specialists examined the Will)  that there “100% forgery” of the Will admitted...

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