FAN LAW OFFICE

If you own real estate in more than one state, you may be setting your family up for a legal and financial ordeal — even if you have a will. Here's why: a will is admitted to probate in the state where you were domiciled at death. But real estate in another state is subject to that state's laws — and must go through a separate probate proceeding called ancillary probate. Own property in three states? Your family may face three simultaneous probates, each in a different court,

For many Texas retirees, the family home is the largest single asset they own. It's also, for most families, the one asset most likely to cause problems at death — if it's not properly planned for. The core question is simple: when you die, how does your home pass to your family? The answer depends entirely on how the property is titled and what documents you have in place. If your home is titled in your name alone and you have only a will, it will go through probate — a cour

Buying your first home is one of the most significant financial decisions of your life. It's also one of the most significant estate planning triggers — and most first-time buyers don't realize it until much later. The moment you sign the closing documents, you own a substantial asset. Without an estate plan, the question of what happens to that asset if something happens to you is answered entirely by state law — not by you. Here are three steps to take right away: Step 1:

One of the most counterintuitive realities of significant wealth is that transferring it to the next generation without protections in place can actually harm the people you're trying to help. An outright inheritance received at the wrong moment — during a divorce, at a time of financial naivety, or in the middle of a lawsuit — can be lost, depleted, or seized. The assets you spent a lifetime building can disappear within a generation. Sophisticated estate planning for high-n

For married retirees, one of the most important — and most overlooked — areas of estate planning is protecting each other. Not just financially, but legally and medically. The assumption most couples make is that marriage automatically grants each spouse the authority to manage the other's affairs if something goes wrong. In most situations, that assumption is incorrect. Without a durable power of attorney, a spouse has limited legal authority to manage accounts, investments,

When business owners think about succession planning, they typically frame it as a family issue — who inherits the business, how the kids are treated fairly, what the spouse receives. These are important questions. But they're not the only people affected when a business owner dies or becomes incapacitated without a plan. Your employees depend on you in ways that are easy to overlook when you're in the middle of running the business. They depend on your business for their liv

Think about the people in your life who depend on you — not just financially, but emotionally, practically, and in ways that would be hard to quantify. A partner who relies on your income. A parent you've been helping. A younger sibling you look out for. A best friend who is your emergency contact. Now ask yourself: if something happened to you tomorrow, would those people be protected by your current plan? For most young adults, the answer is no — not because they don't care

Large estates tend to accumulate complexity. Multiple entities, multiple states, multiple generations, multiple advisors. Trusts layered on trusts. Real estate in several jurisdictions. Business interests with cross-ownership structures. Life insurance policies held inside irrevocable trusts. All of this complexity was probably intentional — each piece added for a legitimate reason at a specific point in time. But over years and decades, the accumulation can produce an estate

You've done the hard part. Decades of work, saving, investing, building — a lifetime of financial decisions that have brought you to a position of stability and security. The question now is a different one: what happens to all of it after you're gone? For many retirees, the estate plan either doesn't exist or hasn't been touched in 20 years. The will was written when the kids were young. The trust was funded when real estate values were a fraction of what they are today. The

It's one of the most common things estate planning attorneys hear from small business owners: 'My business is my retirement plan. My business is my estate plan. When I'm ready, I'll sell it and that's what I'll leave behind.' The logic is understandable. But it contains several dangerous assumptions — and any one of them could leave your family in a difficult position. Assumption 1: The business will be sellable when you need it to be. Businesses don't always sell on your tim

The honest answer is yes — and the reason might surprise you. Most young adults assume estate planning is for older people with large houses, investment portfolios, and grown children. But estate planning isn't about what you own. It's about what happens to you and the people you care about when something unexpected occurs. Consider this: a serious car accident, a sudden medical emergency, an unexpected diagnosis. None of these care how old you are. And without the right docu

Estate planning has a procrastination problem. Most people know they need a plan. Very few actually have one. Here are the five most common reasons — and why none of them hold up. Myth 1: 'I'm too young.' Fact: Incapacity and death don't have minimum age requirements. The 2021 Census found the leading cause of death for adults under 45 is accidents. A 25-year-old needs a healthcare directive and a power of attorney. Full stop. Myth 2: 'I don't have enough assets.' Fact: Estat

The holidays bring family together in ways that ordinary life rarely does. Around the table, across generations, in the warmth of familiar surroundings — it's one of the few times in the year when the people who matter most to you are all in the same place. It's also a uniquely valuable opportunity to have a conversation that most families avoid: talking about your estate plan. Why families avoid this conversation: It feels morbid. It can surface conflicts about expectations.

Your estate plan was likely designed around physical assets — real estate, bank accounts, investments, personal property. But an increasingly significant portion of modern wealth — and an enormous amount of personal data — exists entirely online. Digital assets in an estate can include: cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others), online investment and brokerage accounts, PayPal, Venmo, and other payment platforms, domain names and websites, digital businesses and income s

One of the most common estate planning mistakes isn't failing to create a plan — it's creating one and never looking at it again. Estate plans are not set-it-and-forget-it documents. They're living arrangements that need to evolve as your life evolves. A will written when your children were young may be completely inadequate when they're adults with children of their own. A trust funded with assets you've since sold needs to be revised. As a general rule, review your estate p

As the year draws to a close, most people are focused on holiday plans and year-end finances. But December is also one of the best times to review your estate plan — before the calendar resets and good intentions get pushed to the back burner. Here are 10 things to check before December 31st: 1. Have you had a major life event this year? Marriage, divorce, birth, death, or relocation should all trigger an estate plan review. If something changed, your documents may need to ch

Not every charitable giving strategy requires a complex trust or a donor-advised fund. Sometimes the most meaningful gift is also the simplest: a charitable bequest in your will. A charitable bequest is a provision in your will or trust that directs a portion of your estate to a charity or charities of your choice. It costs nothing during your lifetime, requires no current cash outlay, and can be changed or revoked at any time as long as you're alive and mentally competent. T

What if you could support a cause you care about, receive income for the rest of your life, and reduce your estate tax burden — all at the same time? A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is designed to do exactly that. Here's how it works: You transfer assets — often appreciated stock or real estate — into an irrevocable trust. The trust pays you (and potentially a spouse or other beneficiaries) income for a term of years or for life. When the trust term ends, whatever remains

If you've been writing checks to individual charities year after year, there's a better way — one that simplifies your giving, maximizes your tax benefits, and gives you more control over where your philanthropic dollars go. A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) is a charitable giving account sponsored by a public charity — typically a community foundation, financial institution, or national charity sponsor. You make an irrevocable contribution to the DAF, receive an immediate tax deduc

Many people plan to leave charitable bequests in their will. It's a meaningful gesture — but it may not be the most strategic approach. Giving during your lifetime often produces greater impact, greater satisfaction, and greater tax benefits than giving at death. Why give now rather than at death? You see the impact. A gift made during your lifetime lets you witness the difference it makes — a scholarship awarded, a building constructed, a program funded. This is something a