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Ronald LipmanHouston Chronicle |
If you stop making minimum payments, the credit card companies will likely attempt to collect from you either by using bill-collection firms or by...
My niece moved out of her apartment, her cell phone is no longer in service. How can I locate her so she can claim her inheritance? Q: Why is it...
A parent in Texas kept an adult son's vehicle on their auto insurance. The son caused an accident in Florida where he lives, and the parent wonders...
The first step in ending recurring charges on a dead relative's accounts is to contact the financial institutions and credit card companies to let...
There is no federal law that requires a business to accept cash. And as you might expect, neither the State of Texas nor any city in Texas has that...
Unpaid credit card debt will not simply disappear. Each unpaid credit card will become a debt of an estate. Q: An 86-year-old friend has a lot of...
Barking dogs are not typically a priority for law enforcement, so don't expect immediate results if you call police to address noise coming from a...
It is very common for wills to be over-drafted. But it’s not necessarily the case that the documents have provisions that are redundant, conflicting...
To protect the assets of a relative with dementia, one may be named agent on a power of attorney or as trustee of a revocable trust to a court may...
Distribute money and jewelry should have happened within months of your friend’s death in 2015. Q: A good friend bequeathed $10,000 and some...
Going to court to force an absentee landowner to mow an overgrown lawn is not a good idea. You could spend thousands of dollars on legal fees with no...
The person designated as the backup to you in the will would be appointed to serve if you decline to serve as executor of an estate. Q: Let’s say...
You should consider offering to share the cost of removing an ailing tree if it is really that important to you. Q: Our neighbor behind our house has...
Your personal auto policy will likely cover rental cars, including liability, collision and comprehensive damages. Q: Is it necessary to pay for the...
Your signature doesn't need to include your full name, and it can be as simple as an “X.” Q: I've been signing my full name, using longhand...
It may not be worth filing a claim against insurance companies in Justice (Small Claims) Court. Q: I have a $640 claim against two major insurance...
A business promised to clean gutters but backed out. Justice Court, or small claims court, isn't the venue to try to make a person or company perform...
Hurricane Beryl knocked out power for more than 2 million CenterPoint customers in July. Getting the company to come out to upgrade gas meters that...
Resolving credit card debt after the death of a spouse can be complicated in Texas. Q: My husband recently died. He had some credit cards in his name...
Co-signer on a student loan could be forced to repay the entire amount of the loan, plus interest in the event of default. Expenses may include the...
There is little chance a live-in assistant could ever claim ownership through squatters' rights or adverse possession. Q: An elderly friend of mine...
Neighbors worry squatters may take over late owner's vacant home. Q: An elderly neighbor passed away over two years ago. He lived alone for many...
Options for gaining access to assets when there is no will. Q: My stepbrother died several months ago. He had no will but did own mineral interests...
It is important that you understand what you are signing. Ask your lawyer to review your will with you and sign it only after you are comfortable. Q:...
Tree removal of an uprooted tree that went over the fence on Harvard near East 15th on May 17 in the Heights. Q: Our neighbor has a live oak tree in...
It would be better to plan an estate properly rather than rely on Texas law to divide things up. Q: My brother inherited our mother’s home. He is...
The owner of the land posted a "private property - no through traffic" sign at each end of the street golfers had used to access the course. Q:...
Part of a gift from a Roth IRA withdrawal will fall under the $18,000 annual exclusion, meaning that portion of the gift will not be subject to gift...
In Texas it can be more difficult and costly to probate a will which lacks certain Texas statutory language. Q: Is there "will reciprocity" between...
The cost of filing for probate may cost more than the balance in the account. Is there any other way for my mother to get that money? Q: My father...
A person's will dictates how personal possessions and assets are to be distributed, and no surviving family member can say otherwise. Q: Two of my...
The Texas Health and Safety Code says assisted living facilities have the right to ban weapons. Q: I live in an assisted living facility. The...
My parents bought a home in 1954 and separated a few years later. My father later married a widow who had two children from a prior marriage. Are they...
If the siblings, against all odds, are able to agree they want to keep the farm, they will need to figure out how to co-own it. Q: My mother is 94...
Under Texas law, when a person dies with a will a small estate affidavit is not allowed as an alternative to probate. Q: My sister passed away and...
Loan with no contract leaves a friend in a bind when the borrower won't repay. Q: A friend of mine last year loaned a considerable sum to a co-worker...
A reader asks if removing a fence will affect his property line. Q: When my house was built in 2007, a chain-link fence was on the property line of...
A golfing buddy left three friends $10,000 each. They are waiting for the executor to distribute the funds. Q: My very good golfing buddy passed...
I have been living in a house my mother owns for the past 10 years. She has been promising to give it to me, but her new husband talked her into...
My wife died and left everything to me. Everything has been changed to my name except for our house and one checking account. How best to handle those...
If the spouse who owns the home doesn't want the other spouse to be able to live in the house rent free for life, then the only way around that...
It has become evident that my sister, who is also the executor, took most of my late mother's savings before her death. What can I do? Q: My mother...
If a spouse continues to drive after drinking, Uber is one option, but eliminating the financial risk likely comes down to divorce. Q: My husband is...
Should I let a restaurant apply a credit card surcharge and later contest it with the credit card company? Q: More and more restaurants and...
It's not worth spending thousands of dollars in legal fees in Kansas to claim a virtually worthless interest in an oil well. Q: My parents died...
The underlying laws governing gift and estate taxes did not change, but the amounts that can be given away are indexed for inflation and have...
If you are single, you should strongly consider setting up a revocable trust with a trust company designated to serve should you die or become...
My sister's husband died without a will. For whatever reason, when the two of them purchased their home well into their marriage, it was titled in his...
If your mother wants to save money, she can prepare her own will using one of the new free Texas will forms. Q: My mom is 81 and a Texas resident....
There is an oak tree half on our lot and half on our neighbor's lot. They want to cut it down at their expense. But we like the tree because it...