People love their pets. And in many households, pets are a beloved part of the family. Because of this—and since pets cannot take care of themselves—many Texans worry about who will care for their pets when they pass away. So while they may not be the first thought when putting…
When going through a divorce, there are many complex emotions. And of all the tasks a person must accomplish during this process, updating their estate plan is often not the first thing on the list. However, it is critically important for recently divorced people to speak with an estate planning…
When Texans think about passing on their assets to others, many wish to keep assets in their family through their inheritance planning. While they may assume this will automatically occur—and there is no need to create a will or estate plan—this is not necessarily the case. Instead, there are specific…
When people begin drafting their estate plan, they often debate who to give their personal assets to after they pass away. Often, these assets include real estate, monetary funds and sentimental items. For those individuals who worry about gift and estate taxes and want to pass their assets onto their…
As the new year quickly approaches, many Texans have end-of-year goals they would like to accomplish before 2022. Be it buying presents for the holidays, reconnecting with friends and family, or cleaning out the house, the end of the year is often the busiest time. However, many people forget that…
During the estate planning process, Texans will try and resolve as many issues as possible. However, sometimes these problems fall through the cracks. While most individuals try to ensure they have no debts when they die—at least to the best of their ability—sometimes this is unavoidable. When this occurs, people…
At last, the IRS has announced changes to the unified credit and annual gift tax exemption for 2022. To understand what these changes mean for Houston residents, it is important to first understand how these tax exclusions operate. The lifetime estate and gift tax exemption—also known as the unified tax…
Whether you are a firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, or police officer, as a first responder, you put your life on the line during every shift to help those in your community. With this extraordinary risk and sacrifice comes an urgent need to protect you and your family’s financial future.…
With Thanksgiving and other holidays fast approaching, it is the time that families come together to celebrate and reflect on what they are grateful for. And while gathered around the Thanksgiving dinner table, family members catch up, discuss hot-button topics, and sometimes have difficult conversations. Especially when aging loved ones…
A federal bill working its way through Congress will have dramatic implications for Texans and their estate plans. Once the bill becomes law, some of the estate planning techniques that have assisted Americans with sizeable estates will no longer be available. Fortunately, there is still time for Houston residents to…