Many Texas landowners benefit from leasing their land for oil and gas production. Perhaps an operator has approached you with an offer. If you are thinking about leasing your land, but aren’t sure where to start, here are five tips for negotiating a lease that may help you make your decision:
Discussing your estate plan with family members
There are certain topics that are considered too private and personal to discuss with others, even those closest to you. Estate planning can be one of these topics. You may feel uncomfortable discussing your own estate plan with anyone but your spouse or partner, if even them.
However, opting to avoid discussing the topic altogether with family, such as a spouse, children, grandchildren and more can be detrimental. When it comes time to administer the estate, feelings of confusion, animosity or even bitterness can arise from a lack of understanding.
It's Open Enrollment Season: Is Your Medicare Plan Still Working For You?
Do you have the right Medicare plan? It is fall, which means it is time to think about whether your current plan is still giving you the best coverage or whether a new plan could save you money or offer better coverage. Medicare's Open Enrollment Period, during which you can freely enroll in or switch plans, runs from October 15 to December 7.
What are a landowner’s options in an eminent domain case?
Texas is a land of wide open countryside. It is also place with a booming oil industry, pending construction of a bullet train and a variety of proposed government projects. This may leave some Texas landowners concerned about eminent domain claims. Here is what you need to know about eminent domain and your rights.
What prevents a muniment of title?
When a loved one dies, dealing with the division of their estate afterwards can be stressful. Depending on how well they planned out their wills or trusts, you may have to endure probate court before inheriting everything that the deceased wanted you to have.
While many have devised numerous strategies to minimize or eliminate probate court all together, there is one process in Texas that you can rarely find anywhere else. This proceeding is known as the “muniment of title” and can offer Texans a and less pricy way to settle their loved one’s estate by bypassing the appointment of an executor and standard administration process. Before you consider this option, you need to know if the decedent’s estate is eligible for it.
Steps to take before filing a construction defect claim
After hiring a contractor to make renovations to your home, you begin to find significant issues with the outcome of the project. Perhaps the contractor did not accurately install piping, so your ceiling now leaks. Perhaps the contractor failed to comply with safely regulations, and your home lacks sound structure. Maybe the contractor failed to even complete elements listed on your original contract.
In Texas, homeowners have the ability to engage in a construction dispute with contractors that have failed to uphold their contractual agreements. Contractors can offer ways to avoid court litigation through remedying a potential mistake, but you have the authority to reject a contractor's offer. To receive compensation, you must have proof of a breached contract, so it may prove wise to hire an experienced construction litigation attorney, so that you can receive maximum reimbursement for your faulty renovation.
It's Now Harder for Veterans to Qualify for Long-Term Care Benefits
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has finalized new rules that make it more difficult to qualify for long-term care benefits. The rules establish an asset limit, a look-back period, and asset transfer penalties for claimants applying for VA pension benefits, including the Aid and Attendance benefit, that require a showing of financial need.
What you need to know about contesting a will
Losing a loved one is hard enough, but it is worse when you believe someone took advantage of your loved one. Too often, older people fall victim to manipulative individuals that may coerce them into making decisions they would not normally make. Sometimes these decisions include revising their wills. Or maybe your loved one was suffering from an illness that prevented him or her from making sound decisions, like revising a will.
If you believe your loved one was taken advantage or are concerned about revisions to a will, you may be considering contesting the will. You certainly do not want to seem like a greedy person, but you are concerned that your loved one's best interests are not being represented. Contesting a will may be the best way to move forward. Here are some things you need to know about contesting a will.
Where's My New Medicare Card?
To prevent fraud and fight identity theft, the federal government is issuing new cards to all Medicare beneficiaries that will no longer have beneficiaries' Social Security numbers on them. The government began mailing the cards in April 2018 and the new cards should be completely distributed by April 2019.
High-cost construction defects pose big setbacks
Construction defects have always been a hot topic in the construction industry. Not only do defects in performance, planning and supervision financially hurt the owner, but all the companies and contractors involved. It's a tough situation for both parties and also difficult to target, especially when multiple people worked on one project.