While your goal might be to attract the most qualified buyer that will pay the asking price and lead the company on a path of continued success, it is what you expect of your life post-sale that should constitute how you execute the deal. Done right, a business succession or…
Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog
Estate Planning For Your E-mail Account
What would happen to your e-mail accounts if you suddenly died? Are familiar with the notion of a digital estate? What happens to your online bank accounts, emails, social media and your entire digital presence on the web when you pass away? Imagine a world without you in which your…
529 Colleges Savings Plan – “Super-Fund” It!
You can stuff a lot of money into a 529 college savings plan now and then do the same thing at the beginning of 2014 – a strategy that advisers say they are seeing many wealthy clients adopt this year. Funding a 529 College Savings Plan before year-end is a…
Money Talks With Your Parents
Aging parents need to establish a plan and communicate it with their adult kids — and adult kids need to ask their parents about their finances. In our own lives, our parents start and run the money conversations from that first allowance to gearing up for those college loans and…
Estate Planning Resolutions for Houston Families
Here are the must-do estate-plan tasks you should get done now. What's on your list of New Year's resolutions? Yes, it's that time of year yet again. In addition to the normal list of diet, exercise and the sort — did "estate planning" make the list for 2014? We all…
Inheritance Planning On Both Sides
"You cannot predict what may happen between now and receiving an inheritance," said Ireland. "The earlier you start preparing, the more financially secure your own retirement is likely to be." Planning for an inheritance can be a tricky endeavor, for both givers and receivers. On one side, the giver has…
What Is Survivorship Insurance?
Some wealthy people are taking another look at survivorship insurance. The relatively obscure product, also known as "second-to die" insurance, insures two lives, usually spouses, with one policy.Like its name indicates, the product pays out the benefit after the death of the second insured. Where there is a risk and…
Passing The Torch – Five Succession Tips for Houston Businesses
To ensure your exit goals are met and your family relationships remain intact, it's important to clarify the family succession process right from the start. When you are a family business owner looking to pass the torch, the business is typically your greatest asset and likely the center of the…
Prenup: The “Other” Proposal for Houston Couples
Generally, the best candidates for a prenup, besides anyone with substantial assets, are those going into a second or third marriage, says Bonnie Sockel-Stone, a marital and family attorney in Miami, Florida. A prenup proposal is a bit of an oxymoron. With a marriage proposal, you are pledging to love…
Talk To Your Houston Heirs About Their Inheritance
For many people, estate planning is both a private matter and morbid topic – not something that parents want to discuss with their adult children. While having such conversations takes a lot of courage, families that speak freely about these delicate issues can avoid problems down the line. Thinking about…