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Estate Planning Resources
Articles and guides to help you understand your options for protecting your family and your assets in Texas and North Carolina.
The article explains that donors, not recipients, are responsible for federal gift tax and outlines the 2025 annual exclusion, lifetime exemption, and possible 2026 changes.
- Rania Combs
A North Carolina Revocable Living Trust can provide continued property management during incapacity, avoid probate, preserve privacy, and speed access to assets while remaining changeable during the creator’s lifetime.
- Rania Combs
This article explains how Texas residents may avoid or reduce probate through beneficiary designations, joint ownership, Transfer on Death Deeds, funded trusts, and coordinated planning for out-of-state property.
- Rania Combs
This article explains the requirements for creating a valid trust in Texas, including intent, capacity, written documentation, lawful purpose, trust property, a trustee, beneficiaries, and compliance with the Rule Against Perpetuities.
- Rania Combs
This article explains common Will and estate-planning terms involving Wills, people, property, trusts, family relationships, probate, and Will validity in plain English.
- Rania Combs
This article defines common probate terms and explains how estates, probate assets, court involvement, and estate procedures differ in Texas and North Carolina.
- Rania Combs
The article explains how the Special Needs Alliance Guidebook for Special Needs Trustees helps trustees administer trusts, protect benefit eligibility, maintain records, and communicate with beneficiaries and caregivers.
- Rania Combs
This article explains how Crummey Trusts use temporary withdrawal rights to qualify gifts for the annual gift tax exclusion while providing asset protection and structured distributions.
- Rania Combs
A 2023 amendment to Texas Estates Code Section 304.003 allows a person with a felony conviction to serve as executor if named in the Will, otherwise qualified, and approved by the court.
- Rania Combs
This article explains that although LegalZoom corrected inaccurate information about Texas oral wills and pet trusts, its disclaimers and limited Peace of Mind Review leave do-it-yourself wills risky.
- Rania Combs
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Topics
- Estate Planning120
- Wills60
- Probate and Estate Administration46
- Powers of Attorney46
- Intestacy34
- Gift and Estate Tax29
- Trusts28
- Newsworthy25
- Choosing a Guardian25
- Wacky Wills22
- Odds and Ends17
- The Risk of DIY Planning16
- Special Needs Trusts13
- Transfer on Death Deeds13
- Retirement and End of Life Planning13
- Incapacity11
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