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Buying a Home with Someone Other than a Spouse? Be Mindful.
April 2nd, 2025
Rising housing costs, the desire for companionship, and the need to share resources are increasingly leading buyers to consider co-owning a home with someone other than a spouse, such as a friend, relative, or significant other. Although this arrange…
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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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The Trust Protection Myth: Your Revocable Trust Protects Against Lawsuits
March 19th, 2025
Many people believe that once they set up a revocable living trust and change the ownership of their accounts and property from themselves as individuals to their trust, those accounts and property are protected from lawsuits. This is not true. While…
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Planning for the Unthinkable: Essential Tools for Parents of Minor Children
March 12th, 2025
Approximately three-fourths of Americans do not have a basic will.[1] Many of the same people also have minor children, which underscores a major misunderstanding about estate plans: they can accomplish much more than just handling financial assets (…
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Categories: Estate Planning, Guardianship, Planning for Minor Children, Powers of Attorney, Trusts, Wills
Beware of Trust Scams—and How to Spot Them
March 5th, 2025
Trusts are widely used in estate planning to protect and transfer a person’s assets (money, accounts, property, etc.), sometimes in a tax-advantaged manner. Some trusts are highly complex, with multiple parties, intricate structures, specialized le…
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Categories: Trusts
Estate Plan Basics for Newlyweds: How to Prepare for the Unexpected
February 19th, 2025
Getting married is a special time in your life; you may have a beautiful wedding, a fun reception (with a delicious cake and special gifts), and a romantic honeymoon. It is also the right time for you and your new spouse to plan for your future—for…
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Why Joint Ownership (JTWROS) Should Not Necessarily Be the Go-To Plan for Newlyweds
February 12th, 2025
If you recently married or have been married for a while and have acquired additional money or property (or plan to), you have options regarding how your assets can be owned. Although joint ownership seems easy and convenient, particularly when that…
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Estate Planning for the Newly Married
February 5th, 2025
Now, when you are newly married, is the perfect time to start working on an estate plan. As newlyweds or those about to marry, you are likely in the process of deciding which of your accounts and property (your assets) to combine and how to turn two…
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Categories: Estate Planning, Guardianship, Planning for Minor Children, Powers of Attorney, Trusts, Wills
Do It Now: Name a Guardian for Your Minor Children
January 22nd, 2025
We know it is difficult, even horrific, to imagine someone else raising your children. However, you must consider who you would choose to fill this important role. Otherwise, a judge—a stranger who does not know you or your wishes, your child, or y…
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Pros and Cons of Naming Many Residuary Beneficiaries in a Will or Trust
January 15th, 2025
You have meticulously created your estate plan to ensure that it includes and addresses all of your most important assets (accounts and property). You have reviewed your asset list repeatedly, and everything seems to be accounted for. But what if you…
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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