‘Todd White Rockwall Estate Planning’

Our local probate court regularly appoints me to serve as an attorney ad litem in guardianship cases.  I normally see cases in which a family member is forced to seek to become the legal guardian for a parent who has become ill or infirm and is unable to care for themselves or take care of the business of daily life.  That’s where I come in, as the court-appointed representative of the ill or infirm person, who is often suffering from dementia.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though.  A little

A power of attorney should be a part of your estate plan.  In Texas, the document most commonly used is referred to as a statutory, durable power of attorney.  In this document, you can and should name a person (and at least one alternate) to serve as your agent to take care of your business matters, such as paying bills, filing taxes, making bank deposits, and other activities that are necessary in all of our lives.

Some people put off signing a power of attorney, because they are worried about losing

What will you do if a parent or other loved one is diagnosed with a disease, like Alzheimer’s, that will destroy that person’s ability to make decisions?  Who will make medical decisions for your mom, if she didn’t sign a medical power of attorney?  Who will sign the necessary paperwork if dad must be moved into a memory care facility, if he didn’t sign a statutory durable power of attorney?  What will happen to your parents’ estate if they didn’t sign wills?

If this situation arises, you need to act quickly. 

Attached to this blog post is a link to a form that you can use to jump start your estate planning. It asks for the basic information that our office needs to help you draft a will and other important estate planning documents.  We hope that you will find it useful and that this is the year you get your will signed and your family protected from a complicated administration.  Click the link and get started.  Our office will be glad to help.

2016 Estate Sheet

If you’d like to use your time off over Thanksgiving getting starting on your estate planning, here is a link to a worksheet we provide our clients.  You can simply fill it out and set up a time to meet with us to discuss your particular situation.  We hope that you all have a Happy Thanksgiving.

estateplanninginfosheet

This week of Thanksgiving, we here at The White Law Firm are giving thanks for all of you who voted for us as “Best Law Firm” in the 2015 Rockwall County Herald Banner poll. Once again, you selected us as the best law firm in Rockwall County, this time for the fourth year in a row. We cannot express how grateful we are to all of you. We pledge to work hard to keep your confidence in the coming year. In the meantime, we wish all of you a Happy

As each year comes to an end, we have clients who promise that “next year” will be the year that they sign a will. And, of course, as we get older, it becomes more likely that our families will benefit from knowing that their loved ones have a signed will, a statutory durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, and a directive to physicians (which some folks call a living will). There is still time to take care of your estate planning this year and make 2015 the

It is common for clients to bring us powers of attorney, wills, divorce decrees, and other documents that they have prepared themselves, with help from sources they have found on the internet. It is very rare that these forms are done well and even more rare that they actually meet all of the client’s needs. Here are some things to consider:

1. The laws of every state are different. What state’s laws were considered when that internet form was drafted? If it wasn’t Texas, then the odds that your form is

Our office always recommends that our clients review their estate plan whenever a major life event occurs. People often think of their estates when they marry or have a child.  However, a divorce is also a major life event, and one that requires a close check of your estate plan, starting with your will.

Remember, though, that your will is not the only part of your estate plan that should be reviewed. Insurance beneficiaries, for example, need to be adjusted. Also, any retirement, investment, or other accounts that will be paid