Blog
Articles and updates from our family of firms on tax, probate, business, and related topics.
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When One Spouse’s Fraud Keeps the IRS Clock Open for Both
Married couples file a joint tax return because it is usually the easy choice. One return, one signature line for each spouse, one refund or one balance due. The convenience is real. So is the shared responsibility that comes with it. Most people understand that signing a joint return means both spouses are on the……
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When Your Agent Can’t Refuse: Durable Power of Attorney and Service of Process in Texas
Most people sign a durable power of attorney with incapacity in mind. They want someone they trust to manage their affairs if they no longer can. Few stop to think that the same document, once signed and recorded, can also decide how and where a plaintiff serves them with a lawsuit. In Texas, a statutory…
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When the Will Speaks for the Decedent: Contesting an Express Disinheritance Clause in Texas
A disinheritance clause in a witnessed and notarized Texas will carries real weight. So when someone shows up in probate court claiming to be a biological child born outside of marriage and says the will was forged, the question is not just whether they can file the contest. It is whether they have any credible…
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When Are Cryptocurrency Staking Rewards Taxed?
Plenty of people who hold cryptocurrency never sell a single coin. They buy a token, leave it sitting in an account, and watch the balance grow. With some cryptocurrencies, that balance grows on its own. The platform “stakes” the tokens, and new tokens show up in the account every month. The owner does nothing. The……
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Separate Property Mineral Interest in Texas: When a Mineral Swap Defeats a Community Property Claim
Mineral interests pass through Texas probate estates all the time, usually quietly and without a fight. But when the decedent picked up those minerals during marriage through a trade with a family member instead of a cash purchase, whether they were community or separate property stops being routine. The stakes are real. A community property…
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When Can the IRS Impose a Tax Penalty You Cannot Defend?
Taxpayers who get into a dispute with the IRS often assume that good faith will protect them. They relied on professionals. They read the materials. They believed the deduction was allowed at the time. So even if the deduction is later denied, they expect the penalty to go away because they were not careless and…
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When a Temporary Injunction Backfires: How Rule 683 Can Unravel Probate Court Orders Protecting Estate Property
Disputes over real property in a Texas probate estate can move fast. An heir or interested party may rush to court for a temporary injunction to stop another claimant from damaging, encumbering, or demolishing property that may belong to the estate. The probate court grants the injunction. Relief secured. Or so it seems. Here is…
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When a Spouse’s Tax Evasion Conviction Does Not Bind You
A married couple files joint tax returns. Years later, one spouse is criminally convicted of tax evasion. The IRS then comes after both of them for the back taxes and a fraud penalty. Can the spouse who was not convicted fight the fraud finding if she was never charged with anything and never set foot……
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Mortgage Foreclosure After Death: What Texas Heirs Need to Know
When a Texas homeowner dies and the mortgage is still outstanding, the debt does not die with the borrower. The lender’s right to foreclose does not die either. What changes is who owns the house. And under Texas law, ownership shifts the instant the homeowner takes her last breath — title passes by operation of…
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What If You Don’t Show Up to Your CDP Hearing?
You get a Final Notice of Intent to Levy for a year that you don’t feel that you owe the tax. The IRS made a mistake. You file the Form 12153 to request a Collection Due Process hearing because that’s what the letter says to do. The IRS assigns a settlement officer. She sends you……