A second fundamental reason why we plan is to deal with incapacity or disability as opposed to death. Although I can guarantee you all of you will die, I can assure you that most of you will have someone in your family affected by incapacity. Incapacity means the legal inability to make decisions for yourself [...]
As we addressed in last week's post, the healthcare crisis of a loved one involves financial, medical, and legal issues. If the immediate financial and medical issues can be resolved without court action, the most important thing is to get the patient properly assessed and determine their prognosis. If a loved one who has been [...]
Britney Spears, as almost everyone knows, had been under “conservatorship” in California. What does that mean? Do not try to make me understand California “law”, but if Britney was a Texan, we wouldn’t call it conservatorship. We would call it guardianship, and Ms. Spears would likely never have had a guardian for her as an [...]
For many, a Revocable Living Trust is a wonderful substitute for a Will to do estate planning. There are many advantages, and a few disadvantages, to a living Trust, so we do not make a blanket recommendation that everyone have a Revocable Living Trust. However, it is not uncommon that we are approached by someone [...]
I was talking to a friend recently who innocently confessed that he just didn't understand what I meant by "estate planning." I guess, like other attorneys, I take for granted that people understand what we mean by estate planning. Simply put, what I mean by estate planning is planning for the eventuality of death and [...]
If you've ever known a family that had to create a guardianship, you may have heard that the expense was extremely high. It definitely can be. Guardianship is a complex process requiring the court to involve multiple attorneys that are highly trained to find the best solutions for someone who is mentally incapacitated. So, guardianship [...]
Almost everyone has heard of Living Trusts and some have suggested they are almost magical in the things they can accomplish. Living Trusts are effective at what they do, but “magic” and “law” rarely coincide. We believe that Living Trusts can be a wonderful device for some people's estate planning, but is it right for [...]
Texas has a legal system to protect persons who are unable to care for themselves due to physical and mental incapacity. After an individual is found to be incapacitated by clear and convincing evidence, and that it is in their best interest, the Court may appoint a guardian who has the legal authority to help [...]