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What Does a Trustee of a Trust Need to Do?
When a trust is created as part of an estate plan, the trustee will have a significant role in the management, investment, distribution, and administration of that trust. The trustee’s role is significant: they manage the trust on behalf of the trust beneficiaries, serve as legal owners of the trust, and essentially hold the keys and guard the gate of the trust.
Because of this significant role, a trustee has a number of legal responsibilities, called fiduciary duties, to act in the best interest of the grantor, the beneficiaries, and the trust. An experienced Texas estate planning attorney can advise you on the duties of the trustee, whether you have been appointed as trustee of a trust, are a grantor of a trust, or its beneficiary.
What Are the Duties of a Trustee?
Duty of Loyalty
Why Include a HIPAA Release in Your Estate Plan?
When you sit down to create your estate plan, one of the goals should be to plan for those unexpected situations that no one really wants to think about. Planning for worst-case scenarios is one of the big reasons people make an estate plan. It gives you a chance to protect yourself and your family if you are incapacitated and cannot handle your medical affairs.
There are a number of documents essential to planning for the possibility of medical incapacity in estate planning, such as the advance directive and a medical power of attorney. Yet no comprehensive estate plan is complete without including a HIPAA release form. An experienced Forth Worth, TX estate planning attorney can help ensure that you have a HIPAA release form and any other necessary ancillary documents as part of your estate plan.
Top Recommendations For Military Estate Plans
Military personnel face unique challenges as they put their lives on the line for the country. Servicemembers are often away from home for long periods of time. Some military families have to frequently relocate.
Given the unpredictability and uncertainty of military life, having an estate plan in place is especially important for servicemembers. Military personnel and veterans can also take advantage of unique estate planning resources available only to members of the military. An experienced Fort Worth, TX attorney can advise military personnel on making their estate plan.
Have a Will In Place
A will is a legal document that lays out how you wish your assets to be distributed following your death. By having a valid legal will in place, you can ensure that your family is financially secure following your passing while helping it avoid the uncertainty and disputes that can arise when a person dies without a will.
Avoiding Tax Issues When Gifting to Grandchildren
Tis the season for gift-giving, and what better way to celebrate than by gifting to grandchildren — one of life’s greatest joys. Indeed, as your family grows, you may wish to provide a substantial gift to one or more of your grandchildren, perhaps as a way to share your wealth and help them on their future path. However, you may be understandably concerned about the tax implications of larger financial gifts. A Texas estate planning attorney can offer legal strategies to avoid or minimize tax issues when gifting to grandchildren.
How Can You Minimize or Avoid Taxes on Gifts?
Give the Gift Outright
The Internal Revenue Service allows you to give a gift of up to $18,000 per individual or $36,000 per couple in 2024, per beneficiary. This means that if you have four adorable grandchildren, you could give each one $18,000 tax-free this year alone. You could spread out gift-giving over the years by sticking to the annual limit. Keep in mind that there is also a lifetime gift tax exclusion of $13.61 million per person in 2024, so your total lifetime gifts should not exceed this amount if you wish to avoid tax liability. As for Texas, the state does not have a gift tax, so there is no need to worry about incurring taxes here.
Estate Planning for Medicaid
Considering the high cost of long-term medical care, even if you have never used a government assistance program you may wish to qualify for Medicaid. If so, it is important to give a great deal of thought to crafting an estate plan that allows you to receive Medicaid while still protecting your assets and family. This is due to the unique qualification requirements for Medicaid. An experienced Fort Worth estate planning attorney can advise you on strategies to protect your estate and use Medicaid.
What is Medicaid?
Medicaid (not to be confused with Medicare) is a federal program administered by Texas that helps elderly and disabled low-income individuals obtain long-term medical care. Some of the benefits of Medicaid include:
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Hospital services
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Home health services
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Transportation to medical care
Strategies to Avoid the Probate Process for Home Ownership
Probate can often be time-consuming and expensive, and lead to unwanted family disputes. Because your home may be your most significant asset, you do not want your loved ones to have to go through a complex and stressful process in order for your home to transfer to your heirs. An experienced estates and trusts attorney can advise on how you may set up your estate plan to avoid having your home go into probate upon your passing.
What Is Probate?
Probate is the legal process whereby your assets are distributed and your debts are settled upon your death. The probate process can vary depending on the assets you owe at the time of your death, whether you have a will in place, and your heirs or family dynamics.
Why Avoid Probate On Your Home?
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Cost: Probate can be expensive, and the larger the estate, the higher the legal fees may be.
Five Things to Do When Your Parent Passes Away
Dealing with the death of a loved one is never easy. When a parent passes away, that can be especially difficult. In addition to the emotional pain of losing a parent, you may have logistical considerations associated with their passing. From an estate planning perspective, there are certain things you should do when a parent passes away. An attorney who is experienced in elder law can help you navigate this difficult time.
Make Funeral Arrangements
The first thing to do when a parent passes away is to make funeral arrangements. Depending on the circumstances, there may be a writing or document detailing your parent’s wishes for their funeral and burial, or you may have to make the plan on your own. We recommend looking for such a writing first if you do not already know of its existence.
Depending on the details of the funeral, this may also entail writing an obituary, contacting family members with details about the funeral, and asking them to write remembrances and to be pallbearers, as well as arranging food if there will be a gathering following the funeral.
How to Deal with An Anticipatory Breach of Contract in Texas Law
An anticipatory breach of contract occurs when it becomes clear that a party to the contract will not be able or willing to fulfill their contractual obligations and perform the contract. Another legal term for this type of anticipatory breach is "anticipatory repudiation." This is a complex issue that can have significant legal and financial ramifications depending on the facts and your response. Knowing what to look for to determine whether there is an anticipatory breach and what you can do about it is vital, and an attorney experienced in breach of contract Texas law can advise you on this matter.
When Does Anticipatory Breach Occur?
Anticipatory breach usually happens in one of two situations:
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One party of the agreement communicates to you that they will not perform one of the terms of the contract or that they intend to breach the agreement.
Commercial Leases 101 for Business Owners
The right commercial property can be crucial to a business’s success. Just as important is ensuring that the terms of the commercial lease protect you and your business. Commercial lease agreements present a host of unique and complex considerations, unlike those of residential leases. Considering the significant expense at stake when leasing commercial property, a knowledgeable Texas commercial lease attorney can assist business owners and entrepreneurs in protecting their interests when signing a commercial lease.
What is a Commercial Lease?
A commercial lease can encompass various property types, from office spaces to warehouses to restaurants and retail storefronts. The terms of a commercial lease agreement will vary widely depending on the type of property and need to be tailored accordingly.
How Can I Get a Break on Capital Gains Taxes in Real Estate?
Taxes are a major factor every real estate buyer and owner must consider. Property tax, also known as real estate tax, can be a financial burden on homeowners. For real estate investors, capital gains tax is an important consideration when selling property. Capital gains taxes can take a significant chunk out of the profits an investor makes from a property sale and can impact his or her ability to reinvest.
For this reason, some real estate investors take advantage of a legal loophole called a 1031 like-kind exchange. In this article, we will explore this solution and its time limits. Be sure to consult a Texas real estate attorney for more details or any questions regarding real estate transactions.
What Is a 1031 Like-Kind Exchange?
A 1031 like-kind exchange is an IRS rule that allows investors to defer capital gains tax by reinvesting the profits of a sale in a "like-kind" property. Like-kind does not mean the properties have to be the same. The IRS generally considers real properties to be like-kind, even if one is improved and another unimproved.
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