Should I Put My Home Into A Trust?
Putting a home into a trust can be a smart move when part of a strategically designed estate plan.If you pass away in Texas, the probate process will distribute your assets – including a home – according to your will or intestate succession if you don’t have a will. Probate can be tedious and time-consuming. Putting your home and other assets into a trust bypasses probate, giving your estate to your heirs more quickly and with much less hassle.
Can I Leave An Inheritance To My Beloved Pet?
Pets have become so much more in modern American families. They are members of the family, treated like children in many households. And just as parents want to ensure their (human) children’s needs will be met, they also want their fur babies properly cared for, too. Texas law doesn’t allow someone to leave money directly to an animal, but you can use a will or a trust to pay for their continued care.
When Should You Appoint A Power Of Attorney?
A Power Of Attorney (POA) is a legal directive that appoints an individual of your choosing power to make financial or medical decisions on your behalf should you become incapacitated. A power of attorney can also be used to sign contracts, pay bills, sell real estate, and even make investments on your behalf.
Estate Planning Secures Your Future While Protecting Your Heirs
The pandemic has put illness and the possibility of death on the minds of many. COVID-19 has compelled some people to think about their own mortality and the need to set their affairs in order. Thinking about an estate plan doesn’t necessarily lead to taking action. In a May 2021 Gallup Poll, only 46% of respondents said they have a will, a percentage that has remained steady for three decades. Only 20% of those younger than 30 have one.
Navigating Divorce: Develop Your Guiding Principle
Divorces are incredibly taxing, and you may find yourself hitting a wall, at a loss for what to do. How do you make decisions when your divorce is full of turmoil and drama? What do you do when you’re divorce has been dragging on so long that you’re exhausted both mentally and emotionally? In these moments, it’s helpful to take a step back, take a breath, and center yourself around your guiding principle.
What Is A Declaration Of Guardianship? How Does It Work?
No one wants to think about a prospective time in the future when they won’t be able to care for themselves. Worse still is a parent’s responsibility to think about what happens if they pass away when their children are still young. The unfortunate reality is that sad and tragic accidents do happen. The state of Texas offers legal mechanisms to at least make certain that your care, or that of your children, is handled in a manner that you wish. One of those mechanisms is a declaration of guardianship.
What Does A Healthcare Proxy Do?
None of us can predict what the circumstances will be at the end of our life. However, we should be prepared for any possibility if we want our wishes honored if the worst should happen.
Hey, Divorcing Dads: Say Less, Say It Slower
In today’s obsessively always-on culture, we often try to instantly answer text messages, Snapchats, emails, Slack messages, and social media direct messages. We’re especially responsive to our loved ones.If you’re a divorcing dad, you’ve gotten accustomed to instantaneous responses to and from your spouse. If you didn't answer a text in 10 minutes or less, she’d be calling to find out why (a meeting goes long, a car accident sends you to the hospital with whiplash, it’s the end of the world). When you’re going through a divorce, you may default to keeping this up. You may have years, or decades, of time perfecting your super-fast response. You feel a habitual, deep-down need to quickly answer.
Divorce Mediation: An Overview
Getting divorced involves making a lot of important decisions that will impact your future
Modifying A Child Support Order
In Texas, child support payments must be made until the child turns 18 years old or graduates high school—whichever event occurs later. However, sometimes circumstances change, and parents (either the support payee or recipient) seek to modify their child support orders.
The Child Custody Holiday Schedule In Texas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. At least that’s what the song tells us. But for parents who live separately and have to make plans for sharing the children, it can be anything but wonderful. The state of Texas lays out some clear guidelines for how to create a child custody holiday schedule, and if their parents can collaborate, they can further refine that schedule to meet the needs of their particular family.
Unmarried Fathers In Texas: Claiming Your Paternal Rights
You’re a father who wants to see his child, but you’ve never been married to the mother. Maybe the mother is blocking you from seeing the child. Or maybe not, but you want to be assured that your child gets all the benefits they are due as your offspring. And so, you find yourself asking if unmarried fathers have parental rights in Texas. The answer is yes... So long as it's proven you’re the father.
Top 5 Co-Parenting Apps
A divorce between parents can be a hotly contested dispute, which can lead to difficulties in effectively co-parenting their children. Furthermore, even cooperating parents can experience miscommunication and missed dates from time to time.Fortunately, there are several great apps specifically for co-parenting. These apps provide scheduling tools and various features to keep track of custody calendars and even shared expenses.
Can My Spouse & I Legally Separate In Texas?
While divorce is the dissolution of a marriage, legal separation is a court-recognized, de facto separation while a couple remains legally married, which gives the spouses an opportunity to assess whether to formally get divorced. When it comes to the latter, couples will reach an agreement on alimony, property division, child custody, visitation, and child support or a judge makes such decisions on behalf of the couple.
Types Of Child Custody In Texas
Child custody in Texas is known as “conservatorship,” which details the legal rights and responsibilities of each parent. Parents are referred to as “conservators,” rather than custodians. Texas courts do not favor either the mother or father when determining conservatorship. Instead, the law considers the child’s best interests, each parent’s relationship with the child, and other factors. Unless both parents agree to a custody arrangement, a judge will determine the terms of a conservatorship.
How Remarriage Affects Child & Spousal Support In TX
Child support and spousal support (i.e., alimony) are often part of a final divorce agreement in Texas. However, what happens if one or both spouses marry other people? The following blog post is an overview of how remarriage impacts child support and spousal support.
Do Texas Grandparents Have Visitation Rights?
Being a grandparent is one of the greatest joys in life. In many families, not only do grandparents spend a lot of time with their grandchildren, but they may also take care of them, especially when the parents are busy working or handling household errands.But what happens when a grandchild’s parents file for a divorce? Can grandparents obtain visitation privileges to continue having a loving and lasting relationship with the children?
Relocating After A Texas Divorce
After a divorce between parents in Texas, it is not uncommon for one parent to move to another town, city, county, or even state with his/her children. However, the relocating parent may need to obtain permission from the non-moving parent and modify the current child custody orders.
Co-Parenting Choices: Masks & Back To School
The spread of germs is inevitable in any grade-school setting, but with the COVID-19 Delta variant surging and many of the country’s pediatric ICUs running out of space, what do you do if you’re in a dispute with your ex-spouse regarding masking up for school? Co-parenting decisions can be dicey in any context, but COVID-19 has underscored what is important to one parent may not be as concerning to another.
Divorce & The Grief Cycle
When you say “I do,” you likely never anticipate a future “I don’t.” However, that’s where just about half of marriages lead. When all the hopes and dreams you pinned on your marriage come crumbling down, you likely want the divorce to be swift and painless; and yet, almost all divorces require a period of mourning. This period is known as the grief cycle, in which you’ll experience denial, bargaining, sadness, anger, and finally, acceptance.