Estate Tax Repeal Does Not Mean Estate Planning is No Longer Important Repeal of the federal estate tax is now more likely than at any other time in its nearly 100-year history. Not coincidentally, people have asked me whether “estate planning” is still necessary in an “estate tax-free” world. For several significant reasons, traditional estate …
Most Americans, regardless of their preferred political party, agree that federal taxes are too high, and that the current federal tax system is too complex. With Republicans controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, the likelihood of meaningful tax reform has not been as great for three decades.1 So, what can we expect? …
by Ron Holmes Construction across all sectors is booming. Cranes are everywhere. But, as we all know from history, the music will stop and the lawsuits will follow. The Plaintiff’s attorneys in California have elevated to an art form the filing of construction defect lawsuits immediately prior to expiration to the statute of repose in …
By Ron Holmes Fortunately or unfortunately, I was a commercial real estate attorney during the last, great real estate bust (1987-1994). I had many successful clients, and knew of many more, who had amassed enormous wealth by hard work, ingenuity and adept risk taking in the real estate, only to see those fortunes disappear almost …
By D. Blake Wilson Restrictive covenants. To all those developers out there, these are probably all too familiar. They can be a great thing or a source of frustration and even litigation. A restrictive covenant may not say what you think it says. In a case recently litigated here in Texas, two property owners found …
By Brian A. Fisher Effective as of September 1, 2015, Section 5.019 was added to the Texas Property Code. Section 5.019 requires a seller of property (residential or commercial) that adjoins a lake, reservoir or other impoundment of water (a) constructed or maintained under Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code (governing State water) and …