Blog
Articles and updates from our family of firms on tax, probate, business, and related topics.
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What Happens to a Guardianship Case When the Ward Dies?
When a family fights over a guardianship for years, most people assume the fight ends when the loved one dies. The person who needed protecting is gone. What is left for the court to do? Quite a bit, as it turns out. A ward’s death ends the guardian’s authority over the person, but it does…
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When an Unsigned Trust Sent an Inheritance to the Wrong Generation
A grandmother hires a lawyer to plan her estate. She wants her children to get specific gifts, and she wants what is left to go to her grandchildren through a trust. She signs the papers, dies a few months later, and the family learns the trust doesn’t work. The money that was supposed to go…
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Can Sweat Equity Partner Deduct Partnership Losses?
One person has the money. The other has the know-how or desire to work. They go into business together. The money partner puts up all the capital and the other partner does the work. It is one of the most common deals in small business, real estate, and investing. Now add a twist. To keep……
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When a Probate Order’s Own Language Defeats Its Finality
Probate cases don’t end with one neat judgment the way most lawsuits do. A single estate can produce several orders over months or years, and some of them can be appealed right away. If you miss the deadline to appeal one of those orders, you can lose the issue for good. So it matters a…
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Can Divorce Decree Exempt Ex’s Half House Proceeds from IRS Collections?
A couple owns a house together. They also owe the IRS. The marriage ends, and the divorce decree says the wife gets all of the money when the house sells. The husband agrees to pay the IRS debt and keep her out of it. That seems like a clean split. Then the house sells. The……
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Living With the Decedent Isn’t the Same as Owning the House: Default and the Muniment of Title Deadline in Estate of Masters
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…
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Why Domicile Still Decides Where a Guardianship Case Belongs in Texas
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…
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Does an IRS Offer in Compromise Die With the Taxpayer?
A taxpayer with a terminal illness owes the IRS back taxes. Her medical bills are eating whatever money she has left. Her tax attorney files an offer to settle the tax debt for a nominal amount, and the IRS agent working the file agrees to recommend it. Then the process drags on for months. That……
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When Heirs Sue Too Soon: The Real Party in Interest Problem in Trust Litigation
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…
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When a Small Estate Affidavit Appeal Loses Its Jurisdiction
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…