Posts Tagged ‘trusts’
What is a fiduciary duty?
Posted by: David Leon in Business law, Estate planning and probate, Insurance Law, Litigation and judgments on June 28th, 2009
A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care one can owe to another. The fiduciary relationship is one of trust and confidence. The person or institution who owes the fiduciary duty must put the person’s interests above his or her own interests. Common examples of fiduciary duty include power of attorney holders, executors in wills, and trustees of trusts.
What is a revocable living trust?
Posted by: David Leon in Estate planning and probate on February 20th, 2009
A revocable living trust is a mechanism in which a person can title assets to a trust, but can still terminate the trust and take back the assets during his or her lifetime. Most trusts provide that the trust will become irrevocable once the testator (the person who sets up the trust) becomes incapacitated or dies. These revocable living trusts are typically used in complex estates, older people or unmarried couples. Contact us for more information about setting up a revocable living trust.
Why are people telling me to avoid probate?
Posted by: David Leon in Estate planning and probate on December 8th, 2007
In Texas, probate can be a very simple and inexpensive process, if planned properly. As such, probate avoidance should not be the goal of an estate plan. A more appropriate goal should be tax avoidance or ease of estate administration. This allows an estate planner to use the full suite of estate planning vehicles in planning. In some instances, a person may be worried about their beneficiaries or heirs fighting over estate assets. In other cases, people just don’t trust the court system, or are unfamiliar with the probate process.
