In Texas, divorcing couples should consider how their divorce settlement agreements may affect their future estate planning rights. Family laws and probate laws overlap in many situations. In Texas, a surviving spouse has a right to certain community property and non-community property, including a homestead right to a life estate. If a divorce property settlement agreement contemplates otherwise, does a former spouse with a life estate right still have the legal right to live in the former … [Read more...] about Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 2 of 3
Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 1 of 3
Another important consideration with life insurance beneficiary designations concerns spouses who are not required to carry life insurance policies as part of their divorce settlement agreements but fail to substitute beneficiaries. For example, imagine husband and wife divorce in 2010. Following the divorce, husband forgets to name a different beneficiary in his life insurance policy. Under Texas law, if Husband forgets to change his life insurance beneficiary designation, his former wife … [Read more...] about Divorce and Estate Planning for Texans: Part 1 of 3
Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 3 of 3
You should speak with a property or an estate planning attorney to help you understand your legal rights and to make sure your written agreement complies with the state’s statutory requirements. It is generally insufficient to create a deed that states your intent to hold property with your spouse with a right of survivorship. Instead, your attorney will most likely draft a separate agreement stating such and file it in the appropriate county clerk or recorder’s office. You should also be aware … [Read more...] about Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 3 of 3
Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 2 of 3
Marital property ownership rights are important for estate planning purposes. In most community property states, communal owners each own half of their property and as such, they may freely dispose of their rights as they wish while they are alive or at death. At one spouse’s death, a community property owner may not have an automatic right of survivorship to the remaining property. However, in Texas, the Texas Legislature recognized the need for flexibility for planning purposes between … [Read more...] about Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 2 of 3
Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 1 of 3
Typically, unless you are going through or have gone through a divorce, you probably haven’t given much thought to the term “community property” or “equitable property.” If you are thinking about estate planning, you should understand what “community property” and “equitable property” really mean. Most states follow the common law regime of equitable property during divorce and for estate planning purposes. However, like a handful of other states, Texas is a minority community property … [Read more...] about Community Property and Estate Planning in Texas: Part 1 of 3
Adopted Children and the Texas Probate Code
According to the Texas Probate Code, adopted children have inheritance rights when their parents die intestate. An intestate parent is one who dies without a valid will. An adopted child has the same intestacy rights of inheritance as a natural or biological child. The Texas Probate Code sets forth the rules of succession to determine which heirs are entitled to receive an inheritance when a Texas resident dies without a valid will. Pursuant to the Texas Probate Code, an adopted child has a … [Read more...] about Adopted Children and the Texas Probate Code
The Texas Probate Code and Stepchildren
According to the Texas Probate Code, stepchildren have few rights to inherit from their stepparents if they die without valid wills. A person who dies without a will is an intestate. An intestate’s heirs have a right of succession as determined by the Texas Probate Code. A stepchild does not have a right to either of his stepparent’s intestate property under the Texas Probate Code because the state does not consider him a legal relative. This is true even when a stepparent has a very close … [Read more...] about The Texas Probate Code and Stepchildren
The Texas Probate Code and After-Born Children and Half-Blood Children
According to the Texas Probate Code, half-blood children have half the rights to an inheritance than children of the whole-blood. A half-blood child shares only one natural parent as the rest of his siblings. Thus, when a decedent dies intestate leaving a half-blood sibling and whole-blood sibling, the surviving whole-blood sibling has a full intestacy right to his estate as predetermined by the Texas Probate Code. However, his half-blood sibling only has a right to half that right. An … [Read more...] about The Texas Probate Code and After-Born Children and Half-Blood Children
Your Federal Income Tax Duties as a Personal Representative: Part 3 of 3
As you know from the previous blog, a personal representative may also be responsible for filing a decedent’s final individual income tax return or Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040. You will also have to make sure you file an IRS Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. As the personal representative appointed to administer an estate, you must also file a federal income tax return on the estate’s behalf. The estate’s gross income includes everything … [Read more...] about Your Federal Income Tax Duties as a Personal Representative: Part 3 of 3
Your Federal Income Tax Duties as a Personal Representative: Part 2 of 3
Continuing our discussion of a personal representative’s federal income tax responsibilities on behalf of the estate, we will discuss what these responsibilities entail. As a personal representative, you will have to make sure you file all tax documents and forms in a timely fashion and pay any tax liabilities. You may also be responsible for filing individual income tax returns or the decedent’s final income tax return. You will have to comply with the strict deadlines imposed by IRS or request … [Read more...] about Your Federal Income Tax Duties as a Personal Representative: Part 2 of 3
