Planning for Special Circumstances

Estate Planning for Alzheimer’s

I was recently reminded that incapacity is something that can happen at any age. Someone I know was diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer’s disease at just…

The Complexities of Intestacy in Blended Families

Can Stepchildren Force a Surviving Spouse to Sell Homestead Property?

Conflicts often arise in blended families when one spouse dies. This is especially true if the deceased spouse’s children and their stepparent do not have…

Probating a Will

Is an Executor Required to be a US Citizen?

I recently received a phone call from someone whose wife was not a US Citizen. The caller wondered whether his wife could nevertheless serve as an executor…

FAQs About Dying Without A Will

Estate Planning for Divorcing Couples: What Happens if One Spouse Dies While Divorce is Pending?

A married man died recently. He had a Will which had been prepared shortly after he and his second wife got married. When their Wills were prepared,…

FAQs About Wills

Who Inherits If The Beneficiary Of My Will Dies Before Me?

Although it’s unpleasant to consider, there is a possibility that those whom you’d like to benefit in your Will may not survive you. For example, you may…

FAQs About Dying Without A Will

Can A Biological Sibling of an Adopted Child Inherit Under the Texas Intestacy Statutes

I recently got a note from someone whose biological brother had been given up for adoption while he was a baby. His brother had just died in…

FAQs About Estate Planning

The Top 10 Reasons Why You Need An Estate Plan

A recent survey found that approximately two-thirds of Americans don’t have a wills, and even fewer have power of attorneys or health care directives. Are you…

FAQs About Wills

Is Gift to Stepchildren Void if Testator is Divorced After Signing a Will?

I received a note yesterday from someone whose mother had recently passed away. His mother’s Will, which was made before she divorced, identified her stepchildren as beneficiaries.

FAQs About Wills

Can I Rewrite a Deceased Persons’ Will?

I received a message from someone this week whose husband had passed away seven years earlier leaving a Will that gave all his worldly possessions her. However,…

Wacky Wills

Wacky Wednesday: Wills That Make You Go “Hmmm…”- Harry Houdini

NB: This post is part of a series highlighting wills that contain some interesting, and sometimes bizarre, bequests and stipulations. You can see all these posts here.