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The Perils of Joint Ownership of Property
October 16th, 2024
People often set up bank accounts or real estate so that they own them jointly with a spouse or other family member. The appeal of joint ownership, specifically with survivorship rights, is that when one owner dies, the other owner(s) will automatica…
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Won’t My Spouse and Kids Inherit Everything When I Die?
October 9th, 2024
You may think that if you die while you are married, everything you own will automatically go to your spouse and children. But you are actually thinking of state rules that apply if someone dies without leaving a will. In legal jargon, this is referr…
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3 Ways to Manage Your Estate Plan Cost
October 2nd, 2024
You may think creating a simple estate plan should be easy and something you can do independently. Unfortunately, this is not often the case. Estate planning laws vary greatly from state to state, can sometimes be complicated, and constantly change.…
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Three More Famous Pet Trust Cases and the Lessons We Can Learn from Them
September 25th, 2024
Sometimes, pet owners can get a bit creative when providing for their pets’ future care. The following three famous cases involving a sort of a pet trust offer some important lessons. Although some of the cases shared here involve leaving an inheri…
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Three Celebrity Pet Trust Cases and the Lessons We Can Learn from Them
September 18th, 2024
Not long ago, pet trusts were thought of as little more than eccentric things that famous people did for their pets when they had too much money. These days, pet trusts are considered much more mainstream. For example, in 2016, Minnesota became the f…
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A Trust for Fluffy or Fido? Why Every Pet Parent Needs to Consider a Pet Trust Today
September 11th, 2024
Estate planning is about protecting what is important to you. Although much of the traditional estate planning conversation focuses on surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, and charities, many pet parents wonder what could happen to their “fu…
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5 Tragic Mistakes People Make When Leaving an Inheritance to Their Pets
September 4th, 2024
Planning for your pets in your estate plan is an excellent way to ensure that your beloved pet will receive proper care and attention after you pass on. The problem, of course, is that you will not be there to ensure that your wishes are carried out.…
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What Conditions Can I Put on My Child’s Inheritance?
August 28th, 2024
You have two primary options for leaving an inheritance to a child. The most straightforward is to give it to them in a single lump sum, with no strings attached. But this might not be the best option for some children. You may be concerned about the…
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Disinheriting a Spouse: Can I Leave My Spouse Out of My Estate Plan?
August 21st, 2024
The relationship between spouses is special in all contexts, not the least of which is the estate planning context. In many instances, you can exclude people from your estate plan, including your parents, siblings, and adult children. But there are s…
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To the Millennials: The Time to Plan Is Now
August 14th, 2024
As a millennial, you are contributing to the workforce in a major way and are making positive changes in the world around you. We understand that your concerns may differ from someone of a different generation, and we are here to help you craft an es…
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Categories: Estate Planning, Hiring an Attorney, Pet Trusts, Powers of Attorney, Probate, Trusts, Wills
Attorney Jana McCreary
Houston Estate Planning Attorney Jana R. McCreary has been an attorney for over twenty years, a career move she made after working for over a decade with adults and children with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. Graduating summa cum laud… Read More