As with the famous and diets, myths abound in estate planning and probate too. We’ve compiled our TOP TWELVE LIST that we are sharing in five installments. Myth #8: If I have a will, my estate avoids probate. A will does not avoid probate in Texas—it actually guides the probate process. Probate is still required [...]
As with the famous and diets, myths abound in estate planning and probate too. We’ve compiled our TOP TWELVE LIST that we are sharing in five installments. Myth #1: The best way to handle estate planning is with beneficiary designations. This is almost never true. Beneficiaries designations have at least two flaws: inflexibility and avoidance [...]
In Texas, there are many ways to transfer assets after death without going through probate. Real estate can pass by a right of survivorship deed or a transfer on death deed. Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s allow for beneficiary designations, and life insurance policies have long included beneficiary designations. Even bank accounts held [...]
Pyke & Associates is a firm of elder law attorneys. But what does that mean? Unfortunately, the term elder law means different things to different people, so let me explain what we mean by that term at Pyke & Associates. Boiling this down to its simplest, Pyke & Associates does planning to transition [...]
Our firm mission is to take the fear and unpredictability out of probate, and the other services we provide. Despite our best efforts, the word "probate" works as a bogeyman that causes some to shake with irrational fear. The concern is that probate will significantly deplete an estate, usually by increased legal fees. First, here [...]
Probate sounds like a nasty thing that your family is trapped into when someone dies. Probate can be difficult and expensive, even when there is no dispute, in some countries and some states. Luckily, Texas has very modern, streamlined probate rules. But why do we have those rules at all? Probate is the process [...]