A spendthrift trust is supposed to be a wall. Someone sets up a trust for a family member, adds language saying creditors cannot touch it, and the money stays out of reach even if the beneficiary gets sued and loses. That is the whole point. But a wall is only as good as the words...KEEP READING
Picture a loved one in the final hours of her life. Someone close to her someone she trusted enough to name as her agent under a durable power of attorney rushes to change the beneficiary on her annuity. The paperwork gets faxed. The power of attorney gets attached. On the surface it looks like a...KEEP READING
Blended families carry complicated histories into probate. When a parent leaves a will that treats children differently, or leaves one child out entirely, the stage is set for a fight. The child who received nothing has every reason to challenge the will. The real question is whether that challenge has legal teeth or just reflects...KEEP READING
Picture this: a mother pays off a house over decades, lives in it, maintains it, and raises her family there, all while the original buyer’s name sits in the county property records. Then, years later, that original buyer files for bankruptcy and claims the house as her homestead exemption. What felt like a settled family...KEEP READING
A disinheritance clause in a witnessed and notarized Texas will carries real weight. So when someone shows up in probate court claiming to be a biological child born outside of marriage and says the will was forged, the question is not just whether they can file the contest. It is whether they have any credible...KEEP READING
A serious injury, a lawsuit, a summary judgment in your favor — and then the plaintiff passes away while the case is still grinding along. The estate steps in expecting to collect on what looks like a courtroom victory. Then the defendant’s insurer files its own lawsuit and says the judgment was wiped off the...KEEP READING
Family disputes over estates often involve multiple fronts of litigation. A will contest might accompany challenges to beneficiary designations. Claims of undue influence might target both probate and non-probate assets. When the dust settles and the jury delivers a mixed verdict, upholding the will but invalidating an IRA designation, who pays the legal bills? This...KEEP READING
Payable-on-death (“POD”) accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries upon death through the contract with the financial institution. Probate court would seem the natural fit when disputes arise over who validly changed those designations. When someone dies, leaving bank accounts behind, family members typically expect the probate court to oversee the distribution of the funds. But...KEEP READING
Family members sometimes suspect a will was forged after a loved one dies. Perhaps the signature looks different from other documents the deceased signed. Maybe the person named as executor had the most to gain from the will’s provisions. The circumstances surrounding the will’s execution seem suspicious. These concerns lead family members to believe the...KEEP READING
Probate and estate disputes can tear families apart. Siblings who grew up together stop speaking when disagreements arise about their parents’ property. Adult children accuse stepmothers of manipulating elderly fathers into changing wills. Executors face criticism from beneficiaries who question every decision about selling property or paying debts. These conflicts often lead to probate litigation...KEEP READING
