by Keith Hajovsky | Aug 27, 2026 | Estate Administration, General Estate Planning, Non-probate Assets, Probate, Wills
Executive Summary: Your Will may not control your bank accounts. Certain accounts pass automatically outside of probate. JTWROS accounts pass to the surviving joint owner, while POD accounts pass to the designated beneficiary. These designations generally override the...
by Keith Hajovsky | Jun 24, 2026 | Estate Administration, Probate, Wills
With so many people moving to Texas these days I often get the question “Can my will from another state be used in Texas?” The quick answer is, yes, as long as the will was created and signed properly within the laws of that other state, then the will should be...
by Keith Hajovsky | Apr 22, 2026 | Estate Administration, General Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts, Wills
Can you avoid probate by having a living trust? (please also see Do I Need A Living Trust) Well yes and no. Yes, for all the assets that you actually place into the trust you can avoid probate for those particular assets. For example, you could deed your house to the...
by Keith Hajovsky | Mar 25, 2026 | Estate Administration, General Estate Planning, Power of Attorney, Wills
“Can my Power of Attorney take care of my assets when I die?” I get this question fairly often. And even more often than that, as I am talking to people about their estate plans I learn that many of them incorrectly assume that their Power of Attorney will still work...
by Keith Hajovsky | Feb 25, 2026 | Estate Administration, Non-probate Assets, Probate
This may sound obvious to most people, but do NOT sign important documents related to an inheritance without speaking to a probate attorney first. Unless some sort of fraudulent activity has occurred in order to get you to sign, once you’ve signed the documents you...
by Keith Hajovsky | Feb 4, 2026 | Estate Administration, General Estate Planning, Non-probate Assets, Probate, Wills
Will my life insurance proceeds pass through probate is a great question. Whether or not that happens depends on who you name as the beneficiary. If you name an individual such as your spouse or child or possibly even an entity like a nonprofit organization as the...
