In Archer v. Moody, the litigants in the declaratory judgment action were remainder beneficiaries of a trust created in 1934 and owned a 15,000-acre ranch near Junction, Texas. No. 14-15-00945-CV, ...

When creating an estate plan, the main decision is how your assets will be distributed after you pass away. Understanding "per stirpes" and "per capita" distribution is key to that decision. The terms ...

When creating an estate plan, one of the most basic documents you may wish to include is a will. If you have a more complicated estate, you might also need to have a trust in place. Both a will and a ...

Ah, those Latin words that lawyers love. Or, at least, used to. These days most lawyers do try to communicate in English, but some Latin terms persist because they are shorthand for well understood in ...

Question: Help! My will divides my estate among my “issue per stirpes,” but what does that mean? Answer: Per stirpes is Latin meaning “by roots” or “by branch.” “Issue” refers to everyone down the ...

Question: My estate plan leaves everything equally to my children, per stirpes. My son just adopted a little girl. My daughter has a stepson who she is raising, but she did not adopt him. If my son ...

This week’s column continues the discussion of “legalese,” the strange language and terms that lawyers sometimes use. You may have heard, “What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer ...

Q: I am a newly widowed female with two full-grown children and they each have two adult grandchildren. I have about $1 million in retirement assets and I rent my home. How do I ensure my kids and/or ...

Filling out the beneficiary form for annuities might seem simple. Just fill in the names and move on. But Jeffrey Levine, an individual retirement account (IRA) consultant with Ed Slott and Co., said ...