We have moved offices
If you've tried to find me, I've moved. Come see me at 717 N. Crockett St., Sherman, TX 75092. New phone is 903.964.0852. Same guy, different building
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Wednesday, April 25, 2018
How much does this cost?
I get this question much more regularly now than 5 years ago. Thanks to the internet, we now have access to more information, and if you believe what you read, it SHOULD make things more transparent. Professional services are no different. What companies like LegalZoom (often a bane of my existence) have done is the same that companies like CarMa ...
Thursday, June 1, 2017
US Supreme Court filings: a primer
Sorry I've been gone a while, but I've been busy.In today's post, I'll walk you through a (very rudimentary) tutorial on the shakedown that is filing things in the US Supreme Court, as I had to teach myself this last month.Question 1: Why?-I don't know why, but if you are the Petitioner, good luck. Depending where you look, the odds to get your ce ...
Friday, December 16, 2016
Beneficiary Designations, again.
I've written about beneficiary designations before, but they continue to be a source of conflict I'm seeing for clients. It's not just life insurance, either.Think about your assets. Bank account, stock account, CD's, IRA's, 401k. Probably, without thinking, when you set each of these up you had to fill out all sorts of questions. As I'm sitting ...
Monday, August 1, 2016
Be careful what you sign for...
We sign things all the time. Mostly credit card receipts, but if you have ever bought a car, a home, or signed for a package, you are also representing to the contracting world that, by signing the document, you accept the consequences therein.For most things, this is fine. Sign your electronic name at the grocery store, sign for your fragile anti ...
Friday, January 29, 2016
Gun Trusts, ATF 41P update
Finally, at long last, we have some clarity on what and how the ATF will be regulating the use of "gun trusts" for purchase of National Firearms Act items.On January 15, the final rules were published in the Federal Register, so we have 6 months to stay under the old rules until these become effective.Why they changed things: "The goal of this fin ...
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Probate options when its been more than 4 years...
Time flies. The usual scenario is parent 1 passed away, parent 2 passed away 5 years later, and now the kids are stuck with a mess.Today we will talk about what happens if the decedent had a will. In Texas, you have 4 years to probate a will, in general. Thankfully, you still have options since we often get passed that point. What you need to do ...
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Caselaw Updates: Tortious Interference with Inheritance Rights
I don't love continuing legal education classes. Here's why:1. I don't like many things that are mandatory, and they are.2. I'm surrounded by lawyers.3. They are expensive.4. They are usually in an overly cold/hot room and sometimes via video, which is not an ideal learning environment, (albeit a solid napping environment).I don't love the dentis ...
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Life Insurance: Change your Beneficiary Designations..or else
I have written about life insurance before. In general, I'm not crazy about it, but for some folks it makes sense. I go to a lot of lunches and seminars were different products are presented, and while some are only good for the broker, lots of them offer some really compelling benefits. But I digress.Where life insurance affects most of my clien ...
Friday, March 20, 2015
Efiling: Tips, Tricks, and Conspiracy, and a primer on creating (free-ish) Text-Searchable PDFS
I really don't like efiling. I do not think I am alone. I laud the clerks and technicians who have spend countless hours getting trained, working out the bugs, and helping me when my document was not "text searchable" or "submitted as a secondary lead document, not an attachment."For those of you who are not so inclined, Texas has gone to a manda ...
