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Want to Leave Your Retirement Account to Your Minor Child? Consider These Things First
March 15th, 2023
Your retirement account may be one of the most valuable things you own. Many people consider naming their children as the beneficiaries of these accounts because they think it is a way of easily transferring their wealth if something happens to them.…
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Red Flags When Hiring a Professional To Be Your Trustee
February 6th, 2023
When you form a trust as part of your estate plan, one of the most important decisions you will make is who will oversee the trust’s management when you are no longer able to manage it (also known as your successor trustee). Because a trustee’s w…
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Why a Trust Can Be the Best Option to Avoid Probate
October 28th, 2022
Ideally, when someone passes away, the paperwork and material concerns associated with the deceased’s passing are so seamlessly handled (thanks to excellent preparation) that they fade into the background, allowing the family and other loved ones t…
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When Rock Legends Pass Away: The Possible Fates of Meat Loaf’s $40 Million Estate
June 3rd, 2022
Meat Loaf, whose real name was Michael Lee Aday, passed away earlier this year at the age of seventy-four. The singer behind 1977’s Bat Out of Hell—one of the best-selling albums of all time—experienced ups and downs befitting his larger-than-l…
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“For the 99.5% Act": A Look at Proposed Changes and Estate Planning
June 7th, 2021
On March 21, 2021, Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a new bill into Congress called, “For the 99.5% Act.” The bill’s introduced form is only 18 pages long, but its potential impact on federal estate and gift tax l…
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Property Co-Ownership Can Be Risky
April 26th, 2021
Too often, people try to circumvent probate challenges by deeding property away to someone else during their lives or by putting someone else on the deed to their home. Also too often, doing this leads to unintended consequences and higher attorneys&…
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Update Your Estate Plan to Cover Pandemics
April 5th, 2021
The World Health Organization (WHO) gave name to the disease causing the novel coronavirus outbreak on February 11, 2020. The coronavirus disease of 2019 shortly after became known by its abbreviation, CO for corona, VI for virus, D for disease, and…
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What It Means To Become a Fiduciary
February 8th, 2021
In your lifetime, you may be asked to act on behalf of a family member or friend. This could be being named as agent under a power of attorney, as executor under a will, or as trustee for a trust, for example. Then, if that person who named you becom…
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Planning Your Funeral or Memorial Service
July 16th, 2019
Thinking about your funeral may not be fun, but planning your funeral or your memorial service in advance can be exceedingly helpful for your family. It both lets them know your wishes and assists them during a stressful time. The following are steps…
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Business Succession: Does Your Estate Plan Include Your Business?
January 30th, 2018
Only about ten percent of business owners have a business succession plan. Another thirty percent have only an informal plan. Thus, when it comes to estate planning, too often, owners of small businesses fail to plan for what happens to the business…
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Tags: Florida
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