John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 23: Naming Guardians for Minor Children
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 6 - Reshaping Your Legacy: Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Your friendly neighborhood branch banker suggests that you change all your accounts to either joint with your kids or to name your kids as beneficiaries on all your accounts (a “pay on death” beneficiary designation). ...more
In Quintanilla v. De La Rosa, a defendant appealed the trial court’s issuance of a temporary injunction enjoining her from withdrawing money from a bank account that belonged to a decedent. No. 13-20-00575-CV, 2021 Tex. App....more
Adding an adult child as a joint owner of a parent’s bank account seems like a simple and straightforward solution that allows the child to help care for mom or dad without the expense or hassle of preparing powers of...more
In In re Estate of Debra E. Hunt v. Arabia Vargas, a trial court granted summary judgment interpreting a will to devise a large share of the testatrix’s personal property to her life partner. No. 01-19-00216-CV, 2020 Tex....more
Revocable trusts are an effective way to avoid probate and provide for asset management in the event of incapacity. In addition, revocable trusts--sometimes called “living” trusts--are incredibly flexible and can achieve many...more
Often an aging parent will add an adult child to the parent’s account as a joint holder to assist with asset management or bill payment. However, this may lead to an unintended result in California when the parent dies. The...more
As seniors age, many seniors believe that they should add an adult child to their bank account. Purely for ease and convenience, a jointly owned bank account would be a good way for an adult child to monitor a senior’s...more
In Fletcher v. Whitaker, a brother withdrew $25,000 from a joint bank account while the owner of the funds (decedent) was still alive. No. 02-17-00138-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8329 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth October 11, 2018, no...more
After working to finalize your estate plan, you’ve finally signed the documents and are ready to check this daunting task off of your to-do list. Good work, but there are still a few more items to consider and some additional...more
Earlier this month, New Jersey joined the list of states with an ABLE Plan. An ABLE account is a special tax-favored disability savings account designed to help individuals living with a severe disability save and manage...more
Many commentators and clients today voice a concern with avoiding probate. While this blog is not intended to address the desire or merit in avoiding probate, we will highlight some of the potential traps for clients who seek...more
Joint bank account arrangements are as useful as they are common, providing a simple means for transferring an individual's assets to others - either during his/her life or post death by operation of a survivorship...more
Most people assume that their Wills will control where their assets go after they die. Increasingly, however, beneficiary designations are controlling how assets are distributed, and sometimes with unexpected results. ...more
In this article: - I. Introduction - II. Valid Survivorship Accounts - III. Joint Accounts Between Spouses - IV. Burden Of Proving Enforcable Survivorship Accounts - V. Proving Contents Of...more