The only document that is needed, or available, to avoid guardianship in case of your incapacity is a medical power of attorney. This is a key document in everyone's estate plan. If you have named an agent and given them authority to make your medical decisions, with a properly executed medical power of attorney that [...]
Your Finances A recent study forecasted "a dramatic rise in the burden from dementia in the United States of the coming decades, with one in two Americans expected to experience cognitive difficulties after age 55" according to Dr. Josef Coresh, the study’s senior investigator and epidemiologist. Dr. Coresh is the founding director of the Optimal [...]
There are two key things to do to make your estate simpler to handle. The first is what we do: prepare good estate planning documents and keep them up to date. Revocable living trusts and wills do not become invalid because of the passage of time; however, they should be reviewed periodically to make sure [...]
In case of your death or disability, your trustee, executor, or financial agent needs to know where your assets are so they can take action to secure those assets and use them for your care. If you have your financial documents stored digitally, your financial agents need to have access to that information. Writing down [...]
Your estate planning binder should contain the originals of all your estate planning documents, but that is not everything that is needed for someone to help you in a time of crisis. Your agent under your medical power of attorney should have the following information, which can easily be kept in your estate planning binder [...]
What documents does everyone need? They absolutely need a will or a living trust. They definitely need a medical power of attorney and an advanced directive. An advanced directive allows you to choose the end of life care you want and direct your agent as to your choice . There simply isn't an adult that shouldn't [...]
There are assets that I call legacy assets that need a special level of protection that is not difficult to provide. What do I mean by legacy assets? I mean assets that are intended not to be sold and passed through from one generation to the next. Here are some common examples. A family farm [...]
What do you do when your loved one needs long-term care in a facility but can't afford to pay for it? Medicaid is the answer for 70% of this country's seniors. Medicaid is a means tested, federally-funded program for long-term care that is administered by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. The most [...]
The most common will is one involving a married couple that says all to the surviving spouse and then equally to our children. Those wills have severe flaws. The first is that the surviving spouse, upon receiving the assets, has the full right to re-gift them how they wish. You might not imagine that your [...]
In prior articles, we have considered that planning in Texas can be done with a last will and testament or a revocable living trust. Which is best for you? A Texas will, when probated, gives an executor authority to transfer all assets in the State of Texas which includes personal property regardless where the financial [...]