Need a family law attorney near Magnolia

[Sasquatch]

Hey all,
I need a recommendation for a family law attorney for my mother in law. She needs to update her will - it hasn't been updated in years, the last time was well before my father in law died.

I could also use a good accountant too to steer her toward - she can't file a 1040 EZ due to some of her income streams. Last year she still used her old accountant in Oregon, but that lady said no more this year (makes sense, she should use an accountant familiar with Texas tax codes anyway) and so need a good recommendation there too.

If you have a good one, or better yet you are one please lemme know. Prefer to stay in the Magnolia / Waller / Tomball area.

 

[baboon]

Hey all,
I need a recommendation for a family law attorney for my mother in law. She needs to update her will - it hasn't been updated in years, the last time was well before my father in law died.

I could also use a good accountant too to steer her toward - she can't file a 1040 EZ due to some of her income streams. Last year she still used her old accountant in Oregon, but that lady said no more this year (makes sense, she should use an accountant familiar with Texas tax codes anyway) and so need a good recommendation there too.

If you have a good one, or better yet you are one please lemme know. Prefer to stay in the Magnolia / Waller / Tomball area.

 

[baboon]

Pm inbound

 

[HawkeyeSATX]

In the State of Texas, a person can hand write their own Will, as long as it is notarized, and kept in a safe place. Preferably a copy in safety deposit box, and one in the home.
I would suggest for taxes, go to H&R Block, or Jackson Hewitt, they always have knowledgeable people to do taxes, even complex ones. Also, they have online services.
Other than that, I don’t have any more suggestions.


Hawk

 

[Sasquatch]

In the State of Texas, a person can hand write their own Will, as long as it is notarized, and kept in a safe place. Preferably a copy in safety deposit box, and one in the home.
I would suggest for taxes, go to H&R Block, or Jackson Hewitt, they always have knowledgeable people to do taxes, even complex ones. Also, they have online services.
Other than that, I don’t have any more suggestions.


Hawk

Eh, I've done the H&R Block thing before - they're tax preparers, not well versed on ins and outs in my experience. Having actually used a real full time accountant vs the tax prep services, I'll go with the full time accountant. When I went from being a W2 employee to being self employed, having an actual accountant familiar with all the ins & outs of the tax code literally saved me thousands of dollars. Thanks for the suggestion though, I do appreciate the thought!

 

[mroper]

You can write a will without it being notarized. It has to be in the persons own hand, not printed and signed, totally hand written.

 

[Sasquatch]

You can write a will without it being notarized. It has to be in the persons own hand, not printed and signed, totally hand written.

Yeah we're just going to go the attorney route, that way everything gets covered and its as bullet proof as possible. She has property interest, a handful of various investment and retirement accounts, and who knows what else. Honestly I'm not sure even she remembers what all she has. So spending a few bucks on an attorney that handles this stuff is a small price to pay to make sure everything is done right. As much as I loathe lawyers in general, they do have their uses and a good one is usually worth everything he (or she) charges.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Yeah we're just going to go the attorney route, that way everything gets covered and its as bullet proof as possible. She has property interest, a handful of various investment and retirement accounts, and who knows what else. Honestly I'm not sure even she remembers what all she has. So spending a few bucks on an attorney that handles this stuff is a small price to pay to make sure everything is done right. As much as I loathe lawyers in general, they do have their uses and a good one is usually worth everything he (or she) charges.

Be sure she spells your name right....

 

[Sasquatch]

Be sure she spells your name right....

I'm the arsehole who has been bitching her out non-stop for the last week over how she takes care of her health (she doesn't)


She doesn't want to seriously listen to her doctor's instructions, she's supposed to go in in two days for a procedure to "fix muh veins" - still dunno if they're doing ablation or stents. My bet is ablation. She's supposed to be on a low carb, low-sodium diet. She sneaks bags of candy and eats the whole bag (like, halloween candy bag I mean) - she can kill a family size fruit snack box herself in a week. She tells the doctor she's doing keto...

I'm pretty sure everything is getting split between my wife and my son, which is fine & dandy with me. I just don't want unnecessary headaches when she does die (which if she doesn't start listening to the damn doctors will be a lot sooner than later!) and I don't want my wife having to deal with a bunch of BS.

Also trying to get her to update her living will (advanced directives) and she's still resistant to getting a small final expenses life insurance policy, but she also is dragging ass on arranging her funerary arrangements. Says she wants to be buried in the Klein cemetery over on 249 in Pinehurst.

Its like having a 70 year old toddler sometimes - just doesn't want to admit she put herself in the health position she's in, doesn't want to take care of herself, and figures she's not at risk of dying - even though she's lived longer than any of her blood relatives who died. I'm the jerk trying to prod her into taking care of herself and getting her ducks in a row so my wife doesn't have to be.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Yeah, when my brother passed in 2020 he had no will, and no beneficiaries set up on any of his accounts.
He never married, no kids, and I'm the only person left in my family, and I've been having to jump through ridiculous hoops.

 

[HKSig]

I'm the jerk trying to prod her into taking care of herself and getting her ducks in a row so my wife doesn't have to be.

Tough row to hoe. Don't forget the power of attorney and medical power of attorney.

 

[Grumps21]

Wife’s dad passed unexpectedly almost three years ago. What a mess. No will, nobody knew what he had, and adding that he was 4 states away, a giant cluster for my wife and her sister to settle the estate. I recommend nobody go through that.

 

[mroper]

Yeah we're just going to go the attorney route, that way everything gets covered and its as bullet proof as possible. She has property interest, a handful of various investment and retirement accounts, and who knows what else. Honestly I'm not sure even she remembers what all she has. So spending a few bucks on an attorney that handles this stuff is a small price to pay to make sure everything is done right. As much as I loathe lawyers in general, they do have their uses and a good one is usually worth everything he (or she) charges.

YEs an attorney is your best route. However remember Payable on death attached to banks account generally supercede a will. That should be checked/changed

 

[toddnjoyce]

… just don't want unnecessary headaches when she does die...

A will does not guarantee that. For any financial accounts she solely owns, there needs to be a beneficiary or Transfer on Death (ToD) form filed with the holding institution. The ToD percentages should reflect the will’s desired split. Hugely speeds up the asset movement. If there’s any insurance policies, beneficiaries need to be on file with the insurer…the policies are not probated.

For investment accounts, ToD/PoD/beneficiaries need to be named/on file with distribution percentages that reflect the will’s desire.

If there’s a jointly held account, then the joint owner(s) will become the new owner. If the joint owner(s) don’t want to follow the will, that’s when a contested probate happens.

As for final expenses, the plot can be a significant cost if left to the last minute. There is a secondary market for plots that is much cheaper than buying direct from the cemetery. Bare bones, with a plot already owned, figure $5K for a casket and for the cemetery to do the work necessary to bury the casket. Everything else (viewing, service, speaker, headstone, memory books, etc.,) can be a la cart or package deal. This can add another $7K or (much) more to the bill. Discounts are provided for pre-planning, with various payment options.

 

[Sasquatch]

A will does not guarantee that. For any financial accounts she solely owns, there needs to be a beneficiary or Transfer on Death (ToD) form filed with the holding institution. The ToD percentages should reflect the will’s desired split. Hugely speeds up the asset movement. If there’s any insurance policies, beneficiaries need to be on file with the insurer…the policies are not probated.

For investment accounts, ToD/PoD/beneficiaries need to be named/on file with distribution percentages that reflect the will’s desire.

If there’s a jointly held account, then the joint owner(s) will become the new owner. If the joint owner(s) don’t want to follow the will, that’s when a contested probate happens.

As for final expenses, the plot can be a significant cost if left to the last minute. There is a secondary market for plots that is much cheaper than buying direct from the cemetery. Bare bones, with a plot already owned, figure $5K for a casket and for the cemetery to do the work necessary to bury the casket. Everything else (viewing, service, speaker, headstone, memory books, etc.,) can be a la cart or package deal. This can add another $7K or (much) more to the bill. Discounts are provided for pre-planning, with various payment options.

You bring up some good points. Right now - as far as my wife and I know - she has investment / retirement accounts. We've been trying to get her to either do the beneficiary paperwork, or add my wife as a secondary on her main bank accounts for those reasons mentioned above (not to mention, no inheritance tax if my wife is already joint-owner of the accounts) - her mom is just stubborn.

There are no life insurance policies - her mom swears she doesn't have a policy, and has refused to even try getting one. It's not like it'd be that damned hard - I'm a licensed life & health insurance agent, and I'm pretty sure I could get her a $10k FEX guaranteed issue plan so she wouldn't even have to see a doctor to get coverage.

I remember how much a pain in the ass it was when my grandma passed away in 2008. My grandfather didn't have the cash on hand to buy the plot and pay for the service - and the funeral home wanted everything up front. They said if they waited for the life insurance to pay out, they'd keep grandma in cold storage for upto a month then they'd have to cremate her. The family took up a collection to front the costs - my step dad took half the money out of his own 401K and I don't think my grand dad ever repaid him. Back in 2008 it was still about $10k total between the plot, the cheapest steel casket offered at the funeral home, and the opening and closing of the grave. I can only imagine that 14 years later, we'd be looking at 50% more. The discounts on pre-arranged pre-paid services are a big reason why we're trying to get her to take care of all this crap while she's alive. She dicks around and I might just rent a damn back hoe for a weekend and build a wooden casket myself, and she can be buried next to my dog under the oak in the backyard (or maybe in the back of the pasture) - her own attitude that "i'm fine, there's nothing to worry about, what's the big deal" is the most frustrating part. Her oldest brother died when he was 55 years old (heart attack, he was obese like she is). Her son, my brother in law, died when he was 3 weeks past his 30th birthday, from a heart attack. He too, was morbidly obese. Her mom died at 65 or 67 (I forget which) also from a heart attack, she was obese, but a lot smaller than my MIL. Her dad died at 69 (IIRC) from a heart attack.

There's a pattern there she doesn't want to admit. Its honestly a huge outlier in her family she's made it to 70, especially since she's been a diagnosed type 2 diabetic since before my soon-to-be 11 year old son was born.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Shouldn't be inheritance tax until you hit $5 million.

 

[deemus]

The POD feature on the bank accounts is nice. It allows the account to not have to go through probate. The biggest immediate issue it helps with is burial costs. It provides instant access to her bank account in order to pay for burial.

Lost my wife a couple years ago, and there are some things you / her should think about now before it happens.
1. burial or cremation? Cremation is MUCH cheaper to fund, and allows for some other options that a grave does not. where does she want to be buried if she wants to be buried? Does she have a minister in mind to officiate her service?
2. a buddy had his wife's ashes made into stones, some of which were given to children. You can also split the ashes up into smaller containers for those who want her around in some form.
3. What does she want to do with her stuff? She needs to decide that. Most women have some ideas about who gets specific pieces of jewelry.
4. Consider placing her assets into a grantor trust. Whatever is in that trust avoids probate. Its possible to completely avoid probate by using a grantor trust. Doing that also allows all the income from bank accounts or brokerage accounts to continue to be reported on her personal tax return. This will require an attorney who is familiar with estate work. Not all are.
5. Depending on age, if she has enough money, a long-term care insurance policy is a great thing if she can afford it. I know of many who at some point had to go into a nursing home. That long term care policy reimbursed for every dime spent with the nursing home. One of my clients put $100K into one of these policies. They theoretically should be covered for life when the time comes.

Find time to discuss those issues soon. It can make life easier for all of when the time comes.

 

[Sasquatch]

Shouldn't be inheritance tax until you hit $5 million.

I'll cross my fingers then that we'd be in such a position. Somehow I doubt that there's 1/10th of that in all her accounts combined

 

[ZX9RCAM]

She should start making cash gifts if she is.

 

[Sasquatch]

The POD feature on the bank accounts is nice. It allows the account to not have to go through probate. The biggest immediate issue it helps with is burial costs. It provides instant access to her bank account in order to pay for burial.

Lost my wife a couple years ago, and there are some things you / her should think about now before it happens.
1. burial or cremation? Cremation is MUCH cheaper to fund, and allows for some other options that a grave does not. where does she want to be buried if she wants to be buried? Does she have a minister in mind to officiate her service?
2. a buddy had his wife's ashes made into stones, some of which were given to children. You can also split the ashes up into smaller containers for those who want her around in some form.
3. What does she want to do with her stuff? She needs to decide that. Most women have some ideas about who gets specific pieces of jewelry.
4. Consider placing her assets into a grantor trust. Whatever is in that trust avoids probate. Its possible to completely avoid probate by using a grantor trust. Doing that also allows all the income from bank accounts or brokerage accounts to continue to be reported on her personal tax return. This will require an attorney who is familiar with estate work. Not all are.
5. Depending on age, if she has enough money, a long-term care insurance policy is a great thing if she can afford it. I know of many who at some point had to go into a nursing home. That long term care policy reimbursed for every dime spent with the nursing home. One of my clients put $100K into one of these policies. They theoretically should be covered for life when the time comes.

Find time to discuss those issues soon. It can make life easier for all of when the time comes.

Its sad to think about - but my mother in law doesn't really have much in the way of family left. A couple nieces and nephews she hasn't seen in years, a sister in law who is older than her by nine years. My wife and my son are the only living close blood relatives. That's why I said in an earlier post that I'm pretty sure that my wife and son will be left everything - how its split up, I dunno. Don't particularly care because its not my money or inheritance. I'm looking at things from the standpoint that I'll probably be doing a lot of the leg work after she passes, because I'm sure it'll be hell on my wife.

My MIL lives with us - so at least there's not a pressing need to travel someplace and have to deal with going thru everything - we did that already before we moved from Oregon to Texas. We all did - my wife and I brought no furniture with us, save for my cheap stack-on cabinet, a small wooden chest/bench and my son's bed. We gave away or sold everything else we had. My mother in law's furniture was janky trash - she and my FIL were hoarders and their house had a lot of issues - so none of her furniture save for a cheap DVD stand came with.

There were boxes and totes of a bunch of other shit though - still somehow filled a 35' cargo trailer even without bringing a whole house load of furniture. We picked up furniture when we got here, and my dad gave us a dining room table & chairs, as well as a bed for my wife and I as a welcome to Texas gift.

There were 2 40-yard dumpsters we had hauled off from my MIL's old house, and the rest of the stuff she didn't want either went to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or she gave it to her handful of friends before we left. She's also gone thru a good bit since we moved, and purged even more.