To properly manage US businesses, the government provides a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) governing commercial dealings. The regulations encompass nearly all fields of business transactions, excluding real estate. The UCC’s legal rules ensure uniformity of business dealings across the country by creating a standard procedures manual. The codes will help guide your business transactions, especially [...]
In the state of Texas, the terms guardianship and conservatorship are not interchangeable: Conservatorships are related to children and their parents. Guardianships are caregivers for adults who have become incapacitated, and children whose parents are deceased. Conservatorship Part of Parenting Plan Since 2005, all divorce decrees involving children must include a parenting plan. In a [...]
Charitable Remainder Trusts: Support for You and Your Favorite Charities Being a smart investor also includes proactive estate planning. When the time comes, we want to leave a legacy of support for our family and for our community. However, we don’t want our legacy to be unduly diminished by taxation. What Is A Charitable Remainder [...]
Boundary disputes are commonly thought of as part of the realm of residential real estate, but they’re every bit as common in commercial real estate. Many, if not most, commercial real estate boundary disputes involve access to buildings, such as driveways, parking lots or sidewalks. If a landowner owns a driveway that other buildings must [...]
Review Your Estate Plan for an Out-of-State Move If you are planning a move out of state, you will have plenty to plan for—getting everything packed up, cancelling utilities, getting your family situated in the new home, etc. One item that you may not consider right away is your estate plan, including your will, asset [...]
Owning property. It’s an integral part of the American dream. You can survey your property and proudly declare that this expanse of land is yours. Legally, ownership of that expanse of land is known as surface rights, which includes anything atop it, such as structures, trees and foliage. Ownership of what’s under the land is [...]
Legal Documents Every College Student Needs Tell a college student that they should be thinking about something other than grades, parties or football games, and you might get a blank stare. But in the event a student suffers a devastating injury, illness or death, it’s important that they have the following legal documents in place [...]
You would think after Bernie Madoff, no one would ever fall for it again, but that is just not the case. There have been stories on at least a half-dozen different Ponzi schemes in the news in recent weeks. In a Ponzi Scheme investment fraud, the perpetrator of the fraud guarantees investors high returns on [...]
Post-mortem tax planning refers to the arrangements an individual makes prior to death to minimize the overall tax liability of their estate, and the steps followed by the executor later to ensure the decedent’s goal is achieved. Even with diligent efforts to keep up with changes in tax laws, sometimes it is simply not possible [...]
An advance directive is any type of legal document that outlines your wishes regarding your medical care or treatment before such treatment becomes necessary. The advance directive becomes effective should you become unable to make important medical decisions for yourself. Importance of Advance Directives There are many medical treatments that require patient approval before they [...]
