A: No.  Both a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust are simple to manage and reduce court costs for your beneficiaries.  You can decide to maintain full control of your assets if you're the trustee.  Your attorney can explain which trust, if any, is best for your personal situation.

A: If you do not have a Will that names your beneficiaries or designates what happens to your assets, the state where you reside or pass away will most likely make the determination of who manages your state and who may inherit your assets.

A: Not at all.  Trusts can be created for people of nearly all income levels.

A:

A: “Custody” is known as “conservatorship” in the State of Texas, and there are several factors the Courts will weigh when making decisions regarding conservatorship, like a parent’s right to make decisions on behalf of their child, possession/access, and a parent’s right to spend time with their children. Those factors include the child’s wishes, the emotional and physical needs of the child, the parenting abilities of each parent, the stability of the home environment, and whether there is any evidence of family violence, among other things. Often, both parents are awarded the right to make decisions on behalf of their children and both parents are awarded the ability to spend time with the children, but not always. It depends on those factors and what the Court decides is in the best interest of the child.

A: It depends! Alimony, or “spousal maintenance” as it is called in Texas, is available in limited and specific circumstances. Generally speaking, a spouse may receive spousal maintenance if the marriage has lasted at least 10 years AND the spouse who is requesting the spousal maintenance does not have enough property or income to meet reasonable needs AND that spouse is either 1) disabled, 2) the primary caretaker of a disabled child, or 3) lacks earning ability to provide for their minimum reasonable needs. There are a few other scenarios where a Court is given the authority and discretion to award spousal maintenance under section 8.051 of the Texas Family Code.

A: The paraprofessional model of business is structured so that each task or job is conducted by the person most appropriately equipped to handle that task or job at the best possible hourly rate to the client. At law firms, this usually means that the lawyers, as licensed professionals, are working on things only they are able to do, such as provide legal advice to a client or provide a legal review or analysis of a particular court filing, pleading, or document. A paralegal may be the most appropriate person to draft or prepare such documents, and a legal assistant or administrator might be the best person to coordinate scheduling and client communications. The purpose of the paraprofessional model is to create an efficient office structure that best serves the client’s needs in a way that helps minimize the legal costs.

A: Mediation is a form of alternative dispute resolution that uses a third-party neutral person as the Mediator, which can help facilitate reaching an agreement between the parties involved in your case. Participating in Mediation is usually a more efficient, timely, and cost-effective method of resolving the issues in your case. Most Texas courts will require the parties to participate in a good-faith effort in Mediation to resolve the issues prior to scheduling any court proceeding with the Judge.