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There are times when a Living Trust is a smart estate planning tool that can simplify or avoid probate, and save your family thousands of dollars. A Living Trust is not always a necessary part of an estate plan. Below are some of the reasons a Living Trust might be a good tool for your estate planning.

Texas law provides for a shortened, less complicated, less expensive form of probate in specific circumstances. This is called probate as a muniment of title. This funny-sounding procedure really means that your loved one's Will is officially recognized as valid by the probate court. It then becomes part of the public record in the county where the probate was filed as notice to third parties to honor the terms of the Will to transfer property to the beneficiaries. This is a simple process compared to a full, regular probate.

There are at least six really good reasons for you to have a living trust in your estate planning package.

In this series of blogs, I have outlined various different types of probates and probate alternatives to help you settle an estate and understand the potential costs. A dependent administration is significantly more expensive than any other type of probate. Wise estate planning could avoid this high cost.

Here are three simple tools that help you pass on assets at death without the necessity of probate, saving all parties money, time, and stress.

The price you pay for this advice before signing a contract can easily save you many thousands of dollars and lots of headaches and trouble in the future. A review of a standard residential purchase contract generally would not be more than a few hundred dollars. More complicated contracts, of course, would cost more to review or draft, but the cost would still be far less than any negotiation or litigation later to address problems that arise.

The time to seriously review all of a loved one's financial and estate planning affairs is in the early stages of Dementia or Alzheimer's. Progression of the degree of incapacity varies from person to person. A visit to a physician for a diagnosis and treatment plan should be your first priority. A visit to an attorney should be next.

I have written about how a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can be an element in an effective financial plan or an estate plan. Many people believe that it is very expensive to have a prenup or postnup drawn up. The expense will depend totally on the situation, and may not be nearly as large as you might think.

In this series of blogs, I am outlining various different types of probates or probate alternatives to settle an estate and their likely costs. As I mentioned in the introduction to this series, the cost is predominantly determined by the type of procedure followed.

Entering into a legal contract to lease property can be overwhelming, and you may be uncertain about what you are committing yourself to. Whether you are looking to sign a residential or commercial lease, having an attorney assist you can be helpful and will ease your concerns.