George H.W. Bush (1924-2018) 41st President of the United States, 1989-1993 Political Life In the words of President Harry Truman and President Ronald Reagan, "There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.” President George H.W. Bush embodied these words. In his early life, H.W. became one of the youngest aviators in the Navy, graduated from Yale University, and reached millionaire status all before the age of 40. As the President of the … [Read more...]
Choosing Trustees
If you are creating a Trust, the most important thing that you should consider is who to appoint to serve as a Trustee. In most cases, the best Trustee will be a bank or attorney who can give the Trust professional care. However, professionals cost money and they might not be right for every Trust. For example, if you are creating a small Trust for a grandchild of a few thousand dollars, a professional Trustee is not necessary. If you are not going to hire a professional Trustee, you still need … [Read more...]
Minors Have Immediate Needs
If you are primarily responsible for a child or grandchild, one of the most important things that you can do is to plan for what will happen if you should suddenly pass away. You should make plans for the long term care and financial well-being of any minors that you care for. You should also make sure that the minors have quick and easy access to funds after you are gone. Many estate planning instruments require time to access. If you leave something to a minor in a Will, for example, then the … [Read more...]
Elderly Residents Warned of Living Trust Scams: Part 3 of 3
Elderly residents should be wary of high-pressure tactics from overbearing salespeople who pressure them into giving them your financial information. Be wary of con artists throwing around probate law terms like “executors.” You should always be suspicious of claims from scam companies promising that you can significantly reduce your estate taxes by creating living trusts. A written will can also help you reduce your taxes and are often less expensive to create. Promises that a living trust will … [Read more...]
Elderly Residents Warned of Living Trust Scams: Part 2 of 3
As discussed in the last blog, the Texas Attorney General and Texas Bar brought living trust scams to our attention. Living trust scam artists purporting to sell living trust kits or documents prey upon elderly consumers’ fears. Unfortunately, these kits are often worthless and can cost thousands of dollars. Other living trust scam businesses sell living trust products in an effort to obtain a consumer’s private financial information. Deceptive living trust salespeople may visit you at home or … [Read more...]
Elderly Residents Warned of Living Trust Scams: Part 1 of 3
Beware of living trust scams targeting elderly residents across the nation. A living trust is a written legal instrument allowing you to place your assets into trust for the benefit of your beneficiaries. A trustee manages the living trust on your behalf. The written instrument earns its name from the fact that you create a living trust while you are still living. A living trust may be irrevocable or revocable. You may not alter or revoke an irrevocable living trust document, unlike a revocable … [Read more...]
Why is Incapacity Planning Important?
Life can turn on a dime without any warning, and things can rapidly change without you even realizing it is happening. One day you could be just fine and loving life, and the next day you could be lying in a hospital bed clinging to life. Yes, it can happen that fast – even faster in some situations! What do you do, though? While you can’t prevent things from happening because it is, after all, unexpected – you can put some plans into place. Incapacity planning, believe it or not, is an … [Read more...]
Avoid Estate Litigation
Are you aware of estate litigation traps? Chances are, like most people, you do not. Because people whom are not involved with law practices may fall into these traps, it is important to work with an estate planning lawyer experienced with estate litigation. The more experienced your estate planning lawyer is with the process of estate litigation, the least likely your estate is to fall upon these issues. There are many facets to the estate planning process ranging from complex to … [Read more...]
Put the Proper Estate Plan Tools Into Place
There are a large number of estate planning tools your estate planning lawyer is experienced with, and understands that you are not. Because there are so many options to explore and tools to put into place, it will be necessary to meet with your estate planning lawyer regularly until everything is complete. Even then, meetings will follow regularly in order to keep all the documents up to date. Often times, people believe they only have to worry about their estate plan during the planning … [Read more...]
Estate Litigation: Why a Trust may be Disputed
Like contesting a will, disputing a trust is an emotionally charged and complex issue. While trust disputes are not as common as will contests, they do occur and are often based upon the same type of issues. 1. The legality and validity of the trust itself. With the plethora of online tools to create a trust, there can be legal issues that occur with improperly prepared documents as well as documents that may not reflect the true intentions of the person creating the trust. 2. Removal of … [Read more...]
