30 September

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Texas Small Estate Affidavit: Streamlining Probate

in Estate Planning, Probate, Real Estate Law, Uncategorized

Losing a loved one is difficult enough without the added burden of navigating complex legal procedures. Fortunately, for families dealing with a modest estate in Texas, the law provides a streamlined alternative to formal probate: the Small Estate Affidavit (SEA). This critical legal tool, governed by Chapter 205 of the Texas Estates Code, allows eligible heirs to collect and transfer a decedent’s assets quickly and affordably. What is a Small Estate Affidavit? A Small Estate Affidavit is a sworn legal document that, when approved by a probate court judge, serves as the authority to legally transfer certain assets to a deceased person’s...

06 January

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Texas Directive to Physicians

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

A Texas Directive to Physicians is a document that provides a person’s end-of-life decisions. It is typically prepared by a Texas estate planning attorney. Additionally, it can be called different things, such as a living will – not to be confused with the last will and testament which covers the distribution of one’s estate upon his/her death. Further, the Texas Directive to Physicians obviously does not apply unless the person signing the directive is unable to make his/her own health care decisions. The Texas Directive to Physicians covers two basic conditions. The first condition is the terminal condition. A terminal condition...

02 December

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Texas Last Will and Testament

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

A last will and testament is a document that states to whom a person would like his estate distributed upon his death. The person for whom a last will and testament is drafted is called the testator. In Texas, the last will and testament needs two witnesses. To be self-proving, the last will and testament in Texas must also be notarized with a self-proving affidavit. A self-proving affidavit is essentially the testator’s testimony that the witnesses watched him sign the will. The filing of the original will and testament with a self-proving affidavit removes the requirement that the witnesses must...

07 October

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Buying a Business in Texas

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

Buying a business is always an exciting adventure. However, it can also be intimidating. Texas law does not contain many provisions related specifically to the purchase of most businesses. Instead, general statutes and a lot of common law enters into the picture. Generally, businesses are purchased in one of two ways: (i) a purchase of all the assets; or (ii) a purchase of all the equity (whether stock, units, membership interest, or otherwise). From the buyer’s perspective, it is usually safer to purchase all the assets of an existing business. In doing so, the buyer only receives the liabilities to which...

25 December

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Anne’s Partition and Franchise

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

Following her divorce from John, Anne attempted to sell the real property she held with Caleb. However, her Frisco real estate attorney stated that no one would be interested in buying a fifty percent interest in a tract of land. Caleb refused to buy her share of the Property. Therefore, Anne’s real estate attorney recommended that she request the court to issue an order to sale the property through a partition lawsuit. Anne instructed her Frisco real estate attorney to file the partition lawsuit. The appraisal of the property was stated as $3,000,000. Anne knew the property was worth much more than she had told John (or even the...

17 December

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John’s Non-Compete Agreement

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

John and Anne continued repairing their marriage over the next few months. It was going well. John’s business continued to grow, and he was still receiving a steady and growing paycheck from his employer. However, John’s employer discovered that he was selling software services on the side in violation of a non-compete agreement. John immediately told Anne about the cease and desist letter. She accepted it with grace, and simply asked about his plan to deal with the news. Her confidence in her husband had grown since he was able to save the house. Surely he could negotiate this new obstacle. After sending the letter to his Frisco business attorney,...

12 November

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John Forms His Texas LLC

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

John pleaded for Henry to assist him following Anne’s departure. He understood the only way to save their marriage was to redeem the house, but it was an impossible task in the two weeks that he had before the second eviction trial. Henry was sympathetic to John’s marital woes. He was having some problems himself at the moment. Ginny was upset about their misadventure in justice court, and Henry hired a real estate attorney in Frisco to assist him with the second eviction attempt and future real estate transactions. Henry discussed with the real estate attorney how he could assist John without hurting himself. The attorney devised a plan that...

11 November

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The Eviction Attempt

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

John felt the forthcoming climax of their financial woes. He had been a sales manager with a fast-growing company. But his company had been purchased, and John was laid off. He found a new job, but sales were slower with his new company. His wife, Anne, inquired, “Who was that?” “The buyer from the foreclosure sale.” “What did he say?” He could not evade the question. “He is going to evict us if we can’t pay rent.” “He can’t do that,” Anne exclaimed as tears streamed down her face. “He said that we would have six months to redeem the house.” “He thinks he can.” “What are you going to do?” “I don’t know,” John admitted. John...

06 November

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Threat of Eviction Following an HOA Foreclosure

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

Henry sent the required redemption notices following the HOA foreclosure. In addition, he sent a letter expressing his desire to lease the house to the prior homeowners. Days go by with no response. Henry attempted to contact the lender, but they refused to provide him any information, and he had no way of paying the mortgage on the home he just bought. On the twenty-eight day of the month, he decided to tell Ginny of that they may have to make two mortgage payments without receiving any rent. “What do you mean?” she inquired. Henry explained that he did not want the new house to fall behind on mortgage...

05 November

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The HOA Foreclosure

Posted by Robert Newton

in Uncategorized

Henry had dreamed of supplementing his income with real estate investments for as long as he could remember. But it was hard. His current house, the one in which he and Ginny lived in Frisco, Texas, with their two children, had twenty years remaining on the mortgage. They had two car payments and two credit cards. His wife giggled at his periodic exuberance for the idea. Henry often checked the foreclosure lists posted on the websites of the Denton County Clerk and Collin County Clerk. However, a friend, Abe, who had recently started purchasing foreclosed real estate, told him about a different foreclosure list. Abe said, “You’ve been looking at...