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How to Choose the Initial Trustee of Your Trust
December 31st, 2024
When you establish a trust, you nominate someone to be the initial trustee. If you are creating a revocable living trust, you will likely be the initial trustee. You will also want to name successors or backup trustees to step in and manage the trust…
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Will My Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate? It Depends.
December 24th, 2024
If you have established a revocable living trust (which we will refer to simply as a trust), congratulations! You are on the right track in creating a comprehensive estate plan. However, you are only halfway there. Many people believe that because th…
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Wills, Trusts, and Dying Intestate: How They Differ
December 18th, 2024
Most people understand that having an estate plan benefits them and their loved ones. However, many individuals do not initiate the estate planning process because they do not fully understand the nuances of foundational estate planning tools such as…
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Caution: Using a DIY Deed to Create Joint Owners and Avoid Probate Can Lead to Unintended Consequences
December 11th, 2024
One common way to avoid the probate requirement for real estate after the owner dies is to add children or other individuals to the property title as joint owners with rights of survivorship. When joint owners have survivorship rights and one joint o…
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Shannen Doherty Understood That With Divorce, Timing Is Everything in Estate Planning
December 4th, 2024
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, there were more than 670,000 divorces[1] and more than 2 million marriages in 2022. Divorce is a common life event that many Americans face during their lifetime. But the effect of div…
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What to Do with Grandma’s Ring: Dividing Personal Property in an Estate
November 27th, 2024
If you have a beloved late grandmother, many images and memories may come to mind when you reminisce about her.You might picture her at her home or at the family vacation house during the holidays. Your memory could be a special meal that only she pr…
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Should Your Child’s Guardian and Trustee Be the Same Person?
November 20th, 2024
If you have overheard any estate planning discussions, you have likely heard the words “guardian” or “trustee.” In estate planning, deciding who will ultimately be tasked with caring for your minor child or managing funds for their benefit is…
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Have You Checked Your Beneficiary Designations Lately?
November 13th, 2024
You regularly check the balances of your retirement, bank, and investment accounts. But when was the last time you checked the beneficiary designations on these accounts (and really, all the other accounts that allow you to name a beneficiary)? It ma…
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Categories: Estate Planning
Choosing a Fiduciary: How to Pick a Trustee, Executor, and Agent under a Power of Attorney
November 6th, 2024
While the term fiduciary is a legal term with a rich history, it generally means someone who is legally obligated to act in another person’s best interest. Trustees, executors, and agents are examples of fiduciaries. When you are choosing a fiducia…
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Categories: Estate Planning, Health Care Surrogates, Powers of Attorney, Probate, Property, Trusts, Wills
How to Choose a Guardian for Yourself
October 30th, 2024
Every day we make hundreds of decisions for ourselves—from what to eat for breakfast to where to vacation. However, what happens if you cannot make decisions for yourself? Who do you want making day-to-day decisions on your behalf and serving as yo…
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Attorney Jana McCreary
Houston Estate Planning Attorney Jana R. McCreary has been an attorney for over twenty years, a career move she made after working for over a decade with adults and children with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. Graduating summa cum laud… Read More