Houston families with adopted children have to keep certain concerns in mind while estate planning. If a child is not formally and legally adopted, that child generally will not receive the same treatment in the event of a parent’s death. Inheritance and property will not usually pass on to that…
There are many reasons people may want to avoid creating or revising their Houston estate plan as they age. Some may say they do not have the time or money to sit down with an attorney. Others may think that it is unnecessary. However, often, it boils down to a…
Some people think once the children are all grown up, with spouses and children of their own, that they don’t need life insurance. However, it can play a valuable role in protecting the family and transferring wealth. With estate tax exclusions at levels that make them a non-issue for most…
The succession plan works for your business in the same way an estate plan works for your personal life. It protects the business, outlining your wishes and plans for it to continue, or sets up a means of passing it to the next owners, whether they are family members or…
Balancing careers, children, college funds and aging parents present the same-old scenario, but this time to a new generation with a different value system. Members of Generation X, who straddle a fairly wide age range, from late 30s to early 50s, are feeling the crunch of being responsible for their…
It seems like families need to spend more time discussing estate plans and their finances, especially if they are blended families, to prevent major disruptions. For the second consecutive year, family conflict was named as the biggest treat to estate planning by estate planning and elder law attorneys and other…
Remember that estate planning is not just for the wealthy, and now that the federal exemption is so high, not just for the billionaires either. Estate planning is also much more than a will. Your estate plan has a lot of work to do for you, both while you are…
Your legacy is far richer than your assets and possessions. Planning to pass on a legacy to your family becomes more rewarding, when it includes non-tangibles, like values and treasured family stories. Who wants to think about death, dying and bank accounts? Not too many people do. That’s why so…
The roles are reversed when parents age. You can’t count on them to take the lead in having discussions about money, health, aging and other concerns that come in the later years. When you were a kid, your parents were in charge. Now your parents are older, and you must…
Watching Anthony Bourdain travel the lesser known corners of the world and relish exotic foods and people was fascinating. However, that same approach does not work well, when it comes to more mundane matters, like estate planning. What Anthony Bourdain’s family could have used was a disaster plan, based on…