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Caution: Using a Do-it-Yourself Deed to Avoid Probate Can Lead to Costly Unintended Consequences
March 4th, 2026
One goal of estate planning is to ensure that your assets, including your home, pass to your chosen beneficiaries quickly and with minimal expense. In real estate, a common strategy to avoid probate (the court process of validating a will and distrib…
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How to Get Organized to Meet with Your Estate Planning Attorney
February 4th, 2026
You have decided to meet with an estate planning attorney to get your affairs in order and ensure that your loved ones are protected. Now that you have scheduled the appointment, it is time to get yourself organized and prepare for the first meeting.…
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Why Receiving an Inheritance Changes Your Estate Plan
January 28th, 2026
Receiving an inheritance can be a meaningful and transformative experience, but it can also create challenges if not handled thoughtfully. Without a clear plan, an inheritor may struggle to manage newly acquired assets, face creditor or tax issues, o…
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Categories: Estate Planning, Hiring an Attorney, Planning for Minor Children, Property, Trusts, Wills
Five Things Every New Parent Needs to Know About Wills
November 26th, 2025
Congratulations on your family! Becoming a parent is an incredible journey filled with joy, love, and a whole lot of sleepless nights. It is also a time when you start thinking about the future in an entirely new way. You want to ensure that your chi…
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Four Tips to Avoid a Will or Trust Contest
April 9th, 2025
Fighting over provisions in your will or trust can derail your final wishes, rapidly deplete your financial legacy, and tear your loved ones apart. However, with proper planning, you can help your family avoid a potentially disastrous fight by helpin…
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Who Needs an Estate Plan?
March 26th, 2025
If you are reading this, you need an estate plan. Why? The short answer is that everyone age 18 and older needs an estate plan. It does not matter whether you are old or young, have built up considerable wealth or are just entering adulthood—you ne…
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Will My Revocable Living Trust Avoid Probate? It Depends.
December 24th, 2024
If you have established a revocable living trust (which we will refer to simply as a trust), congratulations! You are on the right track in creating a comprehensive estate plan. However, you are only halfway there. Many people believe that because th…
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Can Someone Else Pay for My Estate Plan?
October 23rd, 2024
Estate planning is not just for the wealthy. Every adult should have an estate plan, yet surprisingly, most Americans do not. The perceived cost of creating one is among the most cited reasons for a lack of estate planning. The consequences of not ha…
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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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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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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