Articles Posted in Estate Planning and Asset Protection

For most families the home is the largest asset they own, and long term care is now the largest threat to it. So when a parent enters a facility and the arithmetic starts, the house is what everyone is quietly worried about. That worry is rational. What recovery actually is Every state runs a Medicaid…

Few things unsettle a marriage quite like learning that a spouse has quietly changed a will. The fear is usually specific and immediate: will I lose the house? In Texas the answer depends less on the will than most people assume. What the will can and cannot reach A Texas will can only dispose of…

Most families stopped worrying about estate tax years ago, and for federal purposes most of them are right to. The federal exemption sits at roughly $15 million per person for 2026 and is indexed going forward. For an Illinois family, that federal number is a distraction, because Illinois runs its own estate tax on entirely…

One of the sharpest differences between Illinois and Texas estate law is what happens when a will leaves a surviving spouse less than the spouse expected. The two states answer that question in almost opposite ways, and families who assume the rule they grew up with often get an unpleasant surprise. The Illinois rule Under…

A family finds the deed in a drawer after the funeral. It is signed. It is notarized. It names them. And it accomplishes nothing, because nobody took it to the county clerk while the owner was alive. This is one of the most common and most preventable losses in estate planning, and it is painful…

Moving is exhausting enough without wondering whether the documents you paid for a decade ago still work. The short answer is reassuring. The longer answer is where the money is. Validity usually survives the move Texas generally honors a will that was validly executed under the law of the state where it was signed. An…

This post compares Texas and Illinois law; figures and deadlines are stated generally, so confirm the current rule in the relevant state before acting. I have been licensed in Illinois since 1996 and in Texas since 1997. I lived in Illinois from 1995 to 2017, Illinois was the center of my practice through 2018, and…

Texas offers two remarkable deed tools that let your real estate pass to a named beneficiary at death without probate, while you keep full control during your lifetime: the statutory Transfer on Death Deed (TODD) and the enhanced life estate deed, better known as the “Lady Bird” deed. Paired with beneficiary designations on financial accounts,…

Here is the assumption that surprises the most families: “If I die, my spouse automatically gets everything.” In Texas, not necessarily. When someone dies without a will, the Texas Estates Code decides who inherits, and in a blended family the result can leave a surviving spouse co-owning the home with stepchildren. How Texas intestacy actually…