One of the documents that makes up the basic estate plan includes the medical power of attorney, where the principal (you) can designate an agent to make your medical decisions when you are no longer able to do so. The medical power of attorney is an important component but it does have limitations. An agent...
We have come across a lot of online will services in our years in business and not one of them has done even an adequate job of protecting clients properly. We just found a new one yesterday that compelled us to write this post. What’s wrong with it? The online services are extremely limited in...
It isn’t uncommon for a person to try to save money by writing a will themselves without the guidance of a qualified attorney. Recently, we helped a family probate one such will. The person typed up a will using a form they bought at an office supply company and later signed a handwritten codicil that...
I worked with a client who was dying of cancer. A few weeks before his death, he decided to hire me to prepare his will and powers of attorney. I traveled to him because he wasn’t in a position to leave the house, brought my portable office equipment, and we talked. He usually took pain...
What can be done to complete an estate plan during this unprecedented time? Clients have been asking how they can finish a will and powers of attorney when it isn’t safe to interact with others. After much brainstorming, lawyers across Texas came up with options. So what do you do? Start regular estate planning beginning...
Probate is not probation. Probate is simply the legal process of transferring property after a person’s death, usually achieved through a court procedure. Probate of a will is required to occur within four years of the date of the person’s death. Spouses don’t automatically take ownership of property and must act within four years in...
What exactly is an estate plan? I hear it often. An “Estate Plan” is simply a plan for what you want done with your things and with you either upon your death or if you become incapacitated. An Estate Plan has at a minimum the following pieces -A will -Durable Power of Attorney -Medical Power...
Guardianship of a child is a critical component of an estate plan and often a triggering event in a person’s life. Often the arrival of a child is what brings young clients into the office. It is so important for you to declare who you wish to serve as the caretaker of your children because...
Wills and other incapacity documents are necessary for everyone: grandparents, parents with young children, single adults. If you want to have a say in what happens to your things when you die or, more importantly, what happens to you when you can’t make your own decisions, drafting your will and other incapacity documents is vital....
People confess to me that they don’t have a will and they keep putting it off, often a look of guilt in their eyes. Why, if we feel guilty, do we wait so long? Sometimes 30 years after having children or even until we our on our deathbeds? We don’t want to think about our...
