How to Contest a Will During Probate in El Paso, TX
Contesting a will can be necessary if you believe it does not reflect your loved one’s true intentions or was improperly created. Understanding the process and legal grounds for contesting a will is crucial. Based in El Paso, TX, Townsend Allala Coulter & Kludt offers expert legal guidance to help you navigate probate disputes.
Grounds for Contesting a Will
Lack of Testamentary Capacity
If the testator was unable to understand the nature or consequences of their decisions due to dementia, mental illness, or other impairments, the will may be invalid.
Undue Influence
A will can be contested if someone manipulated or pressured the testator into signing it, resulting in provisions that do not reflect their actual wishes.
Fraud or Forgery
Wills created under false pretenses or with falsified signatures are legally contestable.
Read the rest of this entry »Estate planning is about ensuring that your wealth is protected during your lifetime and then passed on according to your wishes. Here are a few tips from an El Paso estate planning attorney about how to safeguard your assets in an estate plan.
What Strategies Can Help Protect Your Assets in an Estate Plan? Advice from an El Paso Estate Planning Attorney
1. Create a Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust allows you to keep control over your assets during your lifetime and make sure your wishes for their distribution are carried out after your death. With a will, your estate must go through probate, which can be a lengthy and costly legal process, but a living trust can avoid that. A living trust also makes it possible to protect your assets from creditors and lawsuits, and since the trust is revocable, you can modify it as your circumstances change.
2. Establish an Irrevocable Trust
Unlike a revocable trust, an irrevocable trust provides a higher level of protection against creditors and estate taxes. Once you transfer assets into an irrevocable trust, you no longer have control over them, which can make them inaccessible to creditors. This type of trust can also reduce the size of your taxable estate, potentially saving your heirs significant amounts in estate taxes. Irrevocable trusts are especially useful if you have significant wealth or are concerned about potential lawsuits.
3. Use Gifting Strategies
Gifting is another effective strategy for passing on wealth to your loved ones and reducing the size of your taxable estate. The IRS allows you to gift a certain amount of money or assets each year to individuals without being subject to gift taxes. Strategically gifting portions of your estate during your lifetime can minimize estate taxes after your passing as well as ensure that your assets are transferred according to your wishes. And of course, gifting can be a way to help family members or charities during your lifetime and enjoy seeing your generosity in action.
4. Consider a Family Limited Partnership (FLP)
A Family Limited Partnership (FLP) makes it possible for you to transfer assets to your heirs during your lifetime but still retain control. In an FLP, you can assign limited partnership interests to family members, effectively transferring ownership of the assets but maintaining control as the general partner. This can reduce the value of your estate that is subject to taxes, provide protection from creditors, and control how the assets are used during your lifetime.
5. Purchase Life Insurance
Life insurance is another valuable tool in estate planning, since it is typically tax-free and can provide liquidity to pay estate taxes, debts, or other expenses upon your death. Purchasing a life insurance policy and designating your beneficiaries is a good way to make sure your loved ones receive financial support without the need to liquidate other assets in your estate.
6. Plan for Long-Term Care
An often-overlooked aspect of estate planning is preparing for the possibility of long-term care. The cost of nursing home care or in-home care can quickly deplete your assets, leaving little for your heirs. Long-term care insurance can help cover these cost and protect your estate from being drained by medical expenses. In addition, strategies such as creating a Medicaid trust can help you qualify for government assistance while preserving your assets for your loved ones.
For personalized guidance on safeguarding your estate, contact the Law Offices of Townsend, Allala, Coulter, & Kludt here in El Paso, TX.
When you need to do estate planning in Texas, you want a qualified attorney. An estate planning attorney in El Paso, TX can help you even with a very complex planning needs.
How Can an Estate Planning Attorney in El Paso, TX Help With Complex Issues?
Personalized Help
If you’ve looked around online, you’ve probably noticed a number of websites offering free or extremely low cost will-planning services or forms. While it is technically possible to use these, even with the simplest of estates there’s still a lot of room for error. For more complex issues, they are entirely unsuitable.
Even if you were to use them for a simple issue, they would not be in the least personalized; and estate planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. Your family, your assets, and your goals for the future: these are all unique to you, and an estate planning attorney takes all these things into account to create a plan that meets all of your needs and ensures that your wishes are met exactly.
Read the rest of this entry »According to Fortune Magazine, two-thirds of hospices nationwide are now operating as for-profit entities. The company that owns Roto-Rooter also runs Vitas, the largest for-profit hospice provider in Texas. The Medicaid Payment Advisory Commission found that for-profit hospices had Medicare profit margins of 19% in 2019, compared with 6% for nonprofit hospices.
You can determine if the Hospice facility near you is for-profit or non-profit as well as ratings at this link: www.medicare.gov/care-compare/?guidedSearch=Hospice
A nursing home cannot require a third party (such as an adult child, or friend) to guarantee payment of nursing home bills, as a condition of admission or continued stay at the facility. Despite this rule, nursing home form contracts often include boilerplate provisions requiring third party guaranties and signature by a “responsible party.”
The patient should be the only person to sign the nursing home contracts. If you are signing in your capacity as guardian or agent under a power of attorney because your loved one does not have the capacity to sign, always indicate that next to your signature. So you would sign your signature and next to it you would write, “as power of attorney,” or “as guardian.” This means that you are obligated to pay the bill from the patients assets, not from your own.
It can be important to consult an elder law attorney regarding your obligations to a nursing home. At Townsend Allala, Coulter, & Kludt, PLLC, we make sure that nursing homes get paid appropriately and that our clients are treated fairly.
A no-contest clause should be included in any will, but additional protections may be necessary if you believe someone might contest your will. No-contest clauses are not always upheld in court due to legal challenges, and their effectiveness depends on how they are structured. The general purpose of a no-contest clause is to discourage beneficiaries from challenging a will by making them forfeit their inheritance if they do. However, this only works if the beneficiary stands to lose a significant amount.
For example, if the will states, “I, Jane Doe, leave $1 to my son, Bob Doe. In the event that any individual challenges this will, such beneficiary shall take nothing under it,” Bob has no reason not to contest the will. If he successfully contests the will, he may be entitled to half of Jane’s estate. If he does not, he only receives $1. If you have concerns about a possible will contest, it is essential to work with an experienced elder law attorney to develop a solid estate plan that minimizes the risk of legal challenges.
How a Trust Can Help Prevent a Will Contest
If you are worried that a family member or other party may contest your will, establishing a trust can provide additional protections. A trust helps ensure that your assets are distributed according to your wishes while making it harder for someone to challenge your estate plan.
For individuals in El Paso, Las Cruces, and surrounding areas, a living will and trust can offer several benefits, including:
- Keeping assets out of probate, reducing the chances of legal disputes
- Providing clear and legally enforceable instructions for asset distribution
- Allowing for structured distributions over time to prevent reckless spending by beneficiaries
- Offering privacy since trusts do not go through public probate proceedings
Our will and trust lawyers near El Paso help individuals and families understand the difference between a will and trust and determine which estate planning tools best suit their needs.
What Happens If Someone Contests Probate?
When someone contests probate, they are challenging the validity of a will. This can occur for several reasons, including allegations of undue influence, fraud, lack of mental capacity, or improper execution of the will. Contesting probate can lead to lengthy legal battles, delays in distributing assets, and increased legal costs.
To minimize the risk of probate disputes, our elder law attorneys in El Paso take extra precautions when drafting wills and trusts. We ensure that all estate planning documents comply with Texas and New Mexico laws, reducing the likelihood of a successful challenge.
Choosing the Right Will and Trust Attorney in El Paso
When planning your estate, working with an experienced elder law attorney is crucial. Whether you need a will, trust, or guidance on contesting probate, having a legal professional on your side ensures that your assets are protected and that your final wishes are honored.
At Townsend Allala, Coulter & Kludt, PLLC, our team provides estate planning services to clients throughout El Paso, Las Cruces, and Southern New Mexico. Our will and trust attorneys offer:
- Tailored estate planning strategies that address your specific concerns
- Expertise in Texas probate law and contest probate cases
- Clear guidance on the difference between a will and trust to help you make informed decisions
- Assistance in establishing a living will and trust to protect your estate and loved ones
Schedule a Consultation with an Estate Planning Attorney in El Paso
Estate planning is essential for ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your wishes while minimizing potential legal challenges. If you are looking for a will and trust attorney in El Paso or an elder law attorney in Southern New Mexico, our firm is here to help.
Our office is located at 4131 Trowbridge Drive, El Paso, TX 79903, and we offer both in-person and virtual consultations. Clients who schedule phone or Zoom appointments may qualify for a cash discount on consultations. Contact our elder law firm online or give us a call at 915-533-0007 today to discuss your estate planning needs and secure your legacy for the future.
Millions of older Americans don’t known they are eligible for financial assistance. Here’s how to get help.
Read in CBS News: Click here.
How Do I Protect My Assets? Do I Need an Llc?
If you have a business an LLC can often be a great option. With proper planning, an LLC can protect your personal assets from business liabilities. For example, say you own a rental property in your own name and someone is seriously injured on the property. That person then files a lawsuit against you and wins a $1 million judgment against you personally. Your vacation home in Cloudcroft may be subject to that judgment. If you instead had the rental property in an LLC, your vacation home in your name could be protected from LLC debts. Caution: the LLC must be properly managed in order to maintain this creditor protection and this blog is not intended as a substitute for personally-tailored legal advice. It is vitally important to get competent legal representation regarding this kind of transaction.
Jennifer Coulter and Jessica Kludt are honored to be teaching lawyers at the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys conference this year. We are proud to be part of training the elder law attorneys, who have been a driving force for change for the better for the elderly and disabled. We look forward to learning from the other presenters.
A Will prepares you for a probate, but it doesn’t avoid the need to do that probate. In order to transfer title to real property and access many financial accounts, the Will must be probated. In order for a Will to be effective, it must be probated within 4 years from the date of death. This allows the Court to decide that the Will you give them is valid and the actual last Will of your husband. If you don’t probate within 4 years, you may be stuck with the Rules of Intestate Succession instead of the terms of the Will. Those rules are often undesirable, especially in a blended family. If your husband left you everything in his Will, but you don’t probate within 4 years, his children from a previous marriage can end up with most of his estate.
If you do pre-planning, it may be possible to avoid the need for probate entirely. This can be done through the use of Lady Bird deeds or Transfer on Death deeds for real property and beneficiary designations or Right of Survivorship agreements on all other assets. It can also be done through the use of properly set up trusts. However, this isn’t right for everyone, so be sure to get good legal advice about whether probate avoidance is right in pre-planning and be sure to probate the Will if your husband has already passed.
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