Most people picture a will being signed the same way: a pen, a signature line on the last page, and a full name written out in front of witnesses. But people who draft their own wills don’t always follow the script. Sometimes the signature line gets skipped entirely. When that happens, the family is left...KEEP READING
A lot of people think a will does its job the moment someone dies. The will says the house goes to you, so the house is yours. You keep living there, paying the taxes and fixing the roof, and nobody says otherwise. Then years later you try to sell, refinance, or hire a contractor, and...KEEP READING
Mom gets sick. One of her kids drives in from out of state, packs a bag, and brings her home “just until things get sorted out.” A few months later another sibling takes her to a third state and says she is staying. Now three states each have some claim to her, and everyone wants...KEEP READING
Many families keep the same financial advisor for decades, even when that advisor changes firms three or four times. Mom’s investment account follows the advisor from one brokerage to the next, and nobody thinks twice about it. Then Mom dies, and her will leaves “my account at Firm X ending in 1234” to specific people....KEEP READING
A parent dies. Years later, the family learns that money they expected to inherit went into a trust that leaves them out. Suspicion turns into a lawsuit. But before anyone gets to the question of who misled whom, a more basic problem can derail the case: are these family members even the right people to...KEEP READING
When a parent dies with a modest estate and no will, Texas gives families a shortcut. Instead of opening a full administration, the heirs can file a small estate affidavit, get it approved by the probate court, and collect the property without anyone being appointed administrator. Often a few family members make it even simpler...KEEP READING
Most parents assume the custody fights end when a child turns eighteen. That isn’t always true. When an adult child can’t manage his own affairs, divorced parents can end up back in court, this time fighting over who gets appointed guardian. The stakes are the same as a custody case: medical care, where the child...KEEP READING
Business partners often agree that whoever outlives the other gets the first shot at buying out the deceased partner’s share. Ranching families do it. Oil and gas investors do it. Owners of closely held companies do it. The surviving partner assumes the deal will simply play out once the other partner passes away. But what...KEEP READING
A parent dies and two pieces of paper show up, each claiming to be the last word on who gets what. One child produces a will signed years ago. Someone else produces a will signed shortly before the death. Both cannot be right, and the fight that follows is rarely about money alone. It is...KEEP READING
Most families argue about who should handle a parent’s estate. Usually the fight is about competence, or money, or an old grudge nobody has let go of. Every so often the fight is about something much harder: one of the people asking to be put in charge has already hurt somebody else in the family....KEEP READING
