General Practice Blog

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…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. Consider a composite of situations I see regularly. An investor sells an apartment building abroad. Part of the proceeds moves through a brother’s account because his bank handles international wires better. Some is converted to dollars through an informal currency broker, because…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. The two best-known investor options solve different problems. An E-2 is a nonimmigrant treaty investor visa: it lets nationals of certain treaty countries operate a business they have invested in, but it does not by itself lead to a green card. EB-5…

This post is adapted from commentary I shared on LinkedIn when the decision came down, because few rulings in my 25-plus years of practice have mattered to as many of my clients at once. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Trump v. Barbara, holding 6 to 3 that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. It sounds unlikely, but it happens more often than people think. Some people acquire U.S. citizenship at birth abroad through a U.S. citizen parent. Others derive citizenship automatically as children when a parent naturalizes. Whether either applies depends on the law in…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. Most lawful permanent residents can apply for citizenship after five years, or three if married to and living with a U.S. citizen, provided they meet the continuous residence, physical presence, good moral character, and English and civics requirements. The application itself looks…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. Every week someone tells me, “My visa is valid until 2028, so I’m fine.” Maybe, but the visa stamp only governs entry at the border. Once you are inside the United States, the date that usually controls is the “admit until” date…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. H-1B status is tied to a place. In the remote-work era, I regularly meet workers who moved to a new metropolitan area, sometimes a new state, without an amendment ever being filed. Their paystubs still show the original worksite. Nothing bad has…

Immigration rules, fees, and procedures are changing frequently; confirm current requirements before acting. Getting married in the United States is easy. The immigration side is where people get into trouble. Entering as a visitor with a preconceived plan to marry and remain can raise hard questions about how you entered, and the Visa Waiver Program…