Blog
Articles and updates from our family of firms on tax, probate, business, and related topics.
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Does a Service Defect Void a Texas Guardianship? In re Guardianship of Fairley
Guardianship fights inside a family rarely end when the judge signs the order. The relative who lost often keeps looking for a way to undo it, and one of the first places they look is the very start of the case: was the proposed ward properly served? Texas law is specific about who can hand…
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Gas Royalties Cost a Social Club Its Tax-Exempt Status
Plenty of hunting clubs, golf clubs, and lake associations own land that is worth far more than the club ever paid for it. A gas company comes knocking. It offers a signing bonus and royalties, and the board votes yes. The members keep shooting skeet and fishing the creek. Nothing about the club seems to……
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Subpoenaing Out-of-State Accountants in a Texas Trust Case
When a beneficiary thinks a trust has been mismanaged, the first thing he needs is the paper. Bank statements, tax returns, ledgers, and the accountant’s workpapers usually tell the real story. The trouble is that the paper is often not where the lawsuit is. The trust case is in Texas, but the trustee’s accountants may…
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When Your Appraiser Pleads the Fifth in Tax Litigation
Big charitable deductions are often built on appraisals. Valuation questions turn into tax questions and, ultimately, tax disputes. When a business or partnership donates land, the tax deduction is only as good as the appraiser’s number. The taxpayer picks the appraiser, pays the appraiser, and attaches the appraisal to the tax return. Years later, the……
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Can You Appeal a Refusal to Remove an Executor? Ancillary Probate and Ayala v. Mackie
When a family fight breaks out over an estate, the person in charge of the estate is usually the first target. An heir thinks the executor is the wrong person for the job, asks the probate judge to remove her, and the judge says no. The heir’s next thought is obvious: appeal, and appeal now,…
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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……