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Recent Blog Posts
Addressing Commercial Real Estate Landlord/Tenant Disputes in Texas
For business owners and entrepreneurs, commercial leasing is often the first step in establishing a physical presence for their company. However, what many first-time commercial tenants do not realize is that disputes with their landlord are not uncommon – and can often be quite costly if not handled properly from the outset. If you are currently involved in a commercial landlord/tenant dispute or are simply looking to avoid one in the future, make sure to consider the following.
Take a Proactive Approach to Commercial Lease Agreement
Preventing disputes between landlords and tenants is always preferred to dealing with these issues once they have already arisen. There is no way to completely eliminate the risk of landlord/tenant disputes. However, proper preparation can dramatically mitigate the risk of future disagreements and legal disputes.
When it comes to commercial lease agreements, the old adage “the devil is in the details” has never been more accurate. For tenants, this means that a thorough review of your lease agreement – with the assistance of an experienced real estate attorney – is essential prior to signing on the dotted line.
Setting Up a Special Needs Trust: What You Need to Know
If you have a loved one with special needs, you may be looking for ways to provide for their future. One option is to set up a special needs trust. A special needs trust is an estate planning tool that can help you manage assets for your loved one's benefit. There are many advantages to using a special needs trust, and this blog will discuss some of the key benefits.
Supplemental Needs Trusts in Texas
Special needs trusts, also called supplemental needs trusts, ensure that a disabled person or an individual with special needs receives the care he or she needs. For example, a grandmother caring for a grandchild with cerebral palsy may worry about the care her grandchild will receive once she has passed away. In a situation like this, a special needs trust may be set up to provide consistent financial support for the child even after the grandmother dies. Funds from a special needs trust may be used to pay for medical expenses, in-home care, therapy, housing, and other needs.
What Are Common Legal Disputes that Texas Small Business Owners Face?
As any small business owner can tell you, getting a business up and running is no easy feat. Even when a business is humming along smoothly, unexpected disputes resulting in litigation can crop up at any time. Small business owners must constantly be on their toes, ready to respond to surprises with agility so that legal disputes have a minimal effect on a company’s growth and productivity. Here are some common legal disputes that Texas small business owners may face that a great business law attorney can help with.
Common Types of Business Disputes
The nature of certain businesses will expose them to a greater likelihood of facing disputes than others; for example, a construction business is much more likely to face litigation for an injured employee than a business selling records. Knowing your field is essential for understanding the kind of risks you undertake as a business owner and any potential liabilities you may face in the future. Common types of disputes small business face include, but are not limited to:
Estate planning for blended family in Texas: Major considerations
When you and your spouse got married, you united not only your lives but also your families. This can be a wonderful thing, but it also comes with many new challenges. Therefore, you need to create an estate plan to protect each other and your children. If you are in a blended family in Texas, there are some specific things you need to take into account. Let's look at them below.
Estate planning and subsequent marriages in Texas
When you marry in Texas, part of your property will become your partner's. In fact, they will have a superior say in what happens to your assets when you die than any other person related to you. That's why estate planning is necessary to protect all your heirs, including those from your previous marriages.
Considerations when estate planning for your blended family
Here are some of the crucial factors to keep in mind after marrying into another family:
How to talk about your estate plan with your family
In Texas, one of the most important steps you can take to secure your loved ones' futures is to have an estate plan in place. This document will dictate how your estate should be handled after your death. It's important to have a frank discussion with your family about your estate plan so that they know what to expect.
Why should you have the discussion?
There are a few reasons why having this conversation is so critical. For starters, it can help avoid family conflict. If everyone knows what to expect, there's less of a chance for disagreements to arise about who should inherit what.
This conversation is also so important because it allows you to make sure that your wishes are carried out after you die. You may want to leave particular assets to certain family members, or you may want to set up a trust to take care of your children. Whatever your wishes may be, having this conversation with your family can help make sure they're carried out.
Ensure your business is in safe hands with an estate plan
Your business in Texas is likely to deteriorate if you pass away or become incapacitated without an estate plan. Estate taxes, unclear ownership and leadership are the leading business killers. Here's how you can make sure your business is in safe hands with an estate plan.
Estate planning for business in Texas
Estate planning for business involves setting up strategies that determine how your beneficiaries, business partners, creditors, etc., will deal with your company if you're incapacitated or after your passing. This is critical because even when you are incapable of working, things should go according to your plan. In addition, a good estate plan can help your beneficiaries or your business itself from suffering serious tax consequences.
Get all documents tied to your business in order
For you to create a solid estate plan, you need to first find all the documents that prove your ownership and authority in your business as well as your other assets. For instance, a financial power of attorney will give someone you trust the power to run your business or estate when you are incapable. While that is in action, you can use an advanced health care directive to give someone power to make medical decisions for you or have your own directives regarding how doctors should treat you when incapacitated. Other important documents include:
How to estate plan for generational wealth in Texas
It might be every hardworking Texas resident’s dream to create generational wealth that will keep their family supported for years to come. Even if you’re a millionaire, it still takes careful planning to create substantial generational wealth that will last beyond when you pass.
The exact estate plan that you set up will depend on what assets you have to your name and how much you want to leave behind. In general, though, there are some things that people who wish to leave enough behind to jumpstart a tradition of generational wealth can do with their estate plans.
What’s one of the biggest takeaways for estate planning?
Before you start estate planning, it’s important to be intentional with your planning. Generally, you can either plan around the family you have that’s living at the time of your estate planning or you can plan into the future.
How long does the probate process take?
If you recently lost your mom or dad, you now may be in charge of settling their estate. You might feel overwhelmed by this task. You know the process may be complicated. You also know that the probate process can be lengthy. So how long exactly will probate take?
Understanding probate
First, you may not know exactly what probate is. It is the legal process involved in settling someone's estate. With a will, probate involves proving that the will is valid, distributing the assets as the will lays out and paying any applicable taxes. How long it will take your parent’s estate to go through probate depends on several factors. If their estate is simple and no one disputes their will, you could settle their estate within six months. If your parent had set up a living trust for their assets, those assets don't have to go through probate. However, the probate process could take more than a year if any of the following circumstances apply:
- If you live in a different state and can’t easily meet with an attorney helping with the estate probate administration
3 vital estate planning documents you need
Estate planning is a way to ensure your wishes come to fruition even when you are no longer able to carry them out or supervise their fulfillment. Yet, according to InvestmentNews, in 2017 only 36% of parents with minor children and 42% of adults in general in the U.S. had a living will or trust.
It is important to begin preparing for the future early to take care of your loved ones. As you do, there are certain vital estate documents you need to assemble.
1. Last will and testament
This is the document in which you specify the distribution of your assets. It is also where you appoint a guardian for any underage children in your charge.
2. Medical directive
Also referred to as a living will, an advance directive or a Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates (the latter two are Texas labels), this is where you spell out important medical decisions in case you are later unable to advocate for yourself. For example, if you fall severely ill or suffer an injury that keeps you from speaking or making choices, this document tells medical personnel your desires. Subjects you may address include if you agree to life support, if you are willing to donate your body to science and more.
4 signs your father’s will may not reflect his true wishes
If your father drafted a will before he died, he had more of an estate plan than most. In fact, according to a recent study, nearly 70% of Americans do not have even a basic will. Still, whether you stand to inherit considerable wealth or nothing at all, you want to be sure your father’s will reflects his true wishes.
Undue influence happens when an influencer pressures a person to draft a will in a way that benefits the influencer often to the detriment of traditional beneficiaries. Here are four signs someone may have exerted undue influence over your father’s will.
1. Too much participation
While there is nothing inherently wrong with having a friend, family member or someone else help draft a will, too much participation from a nonprofessional may be a sign of undue influence.
2. Recent or unexplainable changes
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