by Keith Hajovsky | Jan 3, 2025 | General Estate Planning, Probate, Trusts
A spendthrift trust can be a very powerful estate planning tool if you want to leave assets to someone who isn’t good with money. I have always said that everyone has their strengths, i.e. things that they are good at. Some of us are very artistic. Some of us...
by Keith Hajovsky | Dec 26, 2024 | 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 | Oct 30, 2024 | 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 | Sep 4, 2024 | 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 | Aug 28, 2024 | General Estate Planning, Non-probate Assets, Probate, Wills
Whether you have a will or not, you are most likely to have both probate and non-probate assets. In fact, I like to tell clients there are basically two “buckets” of assets – one for probate assets and and one for non-probate assets. Probate assets pass...
by Keith Hajovsky | Aug 14, 2024 | 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...
