An Executor’s Guide to Administering an Estate
Estate Planning 101: The Five Most Important Clauses for Wills and Trusts
Top Ten Mistakes Executors Make and How to Avoid Them
Probate is the legal process through which a deceased person’s assets are distributed to heirs or beneficiaries and debts are settled. While many estates pass through probate smoothly, disputes can and do arise—sometimes...more
Managing your residuary estate - Even with a comprehensive estate plan, it’s likely you’ll have some assets in a residuary estate. Like the sediment at the bottom of your glass after you finish a fine wine, an estate plan...more
Creating a last will and testament is the first step in creating an estate plan – a critical planning tool to ensure that your wishes are honored and that your loved ones are cared for after your death....more
In Many v. Ridgely, a decedent’s son and daughter were beneficiaries of her estate. No. 03-21-00520-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 8189 (Tex. App.—Austin October 27, 2023, no pet. history)...more
DURING YOUR LIFE - When preparing your estate plan, it is of utmost importance to ensure that you have documents in place so your spouse or another trusted individual can make medical and financial decisions on your...more
Winstead Shareholder David F. Johnson participated in a panel presentation entitled “When One Is Not Enough: Dividing Fiduciary Powers and Dispositions” for the State Bar of Texas’s 29th Advanced Estate Planning Strategies on...more
A lot of my work as an estate planning attorney is talking with clients to get a thorough understanding of their assets, family, and planning goals so I can help them carry out those goals. Something I hear frequently, which...more
Asset protection - How to shield your wealth from lawsuits and creditors - Much of estate planning focuses on transferring your wealth to loved ones in a taxefficient manner. But for many people, it’s equally important...more
Getting remarried? Understand your spouse’s inheritance rights - If you’re getting remarried, you may have very different expectations than you did when you married the first time, especially when it comes to estate...more
A fiduciary is a fancy legal term for the person who will take care of your property for you if you are unable to do it yourself, such as the executor of an estate, the trustee of a trust, or an attorney-in-fact under a power...more
California’s probate process aims to expeditiously identify and resolve the claims of creditors against decedents. Creditors who are unsophisticated, or who simply do not learn of the decedent’s passing, may find themselves...more