Probate of a will in Texas may lead to a will contest when the will is challenged by those who believe that they have a better right to collect from the decedent's estate. A will contest is often based on a claim of undue influence, which asserts that the beneficiary took advantage of a position of power over the person to get that individual to consent to disposing of property in a way that was not a product of a free exercise of his or her own will. The presentation of the will for probate is the appropriate time to challenge its validity.
Will contest results in rejection of will presented for probate
Estate planning considerations arise when child reaches 18
When a child living at home turns 18, under Texas law and elsewhere, there is a change in legal status from being a minor to an adult for most purposes. For the parents, the child may still seem to be as dependent as before, but the new legal status will require some adjustments. In the area of estate planning, the new adult will be well advised to take some steps to provide some planning protections.
Putting off estate planning can cause big problems in future
Procrastinating over estate and long-term planning can cause immeasurable confusion and suffering to a person and his or her heirs in the event of one's incapacitation or passing. It is easy to see why preparing for one's end of days may be a frightful subject for some. Nonetheless, ignoring the task will only lead to future problems. The basic documents of estate planning are generally the same from state to state, including Texas, and an experienced estate planning attorney will work closely with financial advisers and with the client to keep the process as painless and engaging as possible.
Ignoring long-term care planning may result in future crisis
There may be a crisis brewing here in Texas and throughout the country based on statistics that indicate that a large majority of people are letting the task of long-term care go to the proverbial wayside. The potential crisis is suggested by statistics that say that most people approaching retirement today will need long-term care planning in the future. This means that a great majority of retired persons are going to need vital life-saving services in the future; unfortunately, a great majority of them are apparently doing nothing about it.
Boomers look to estate planning as they approach age 70
For residents of Texas and elsewhere, taking care of one's retirement years in advance is often a task that is put off until tomorrow. However, each tomorrow brings one closer to those years where he or she will start to relax more, and begin to progressively wind down the activity levels due to age, health and natural evolution. For the early-born baby boomers, they must now say hello to the beginning of an eighth decade of life. Being 70 may be a great eye-opener for estate planning purposes, as one looks back on all of the joys and battles and concludes with some deserving pride that indeed he or she can be rightly called a survivor.
