Category Archives: Estate Planning

February 16, 2018 Weekly Round Up

Posted on February 15, 2018 by tiffany.dowell

Hello from Weatherford, Texas! Last night, I spoke at an Extension meeting in Denton County and today I’ll be speaking at the Country Land Stewardship Conference here in Weatherford. Welcome to those of you joining us from these events. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Budget bill allows seed cotton to be a covered commodity under Farm Bill. On February 9, Congress passed a budget that made seed cotton a covered commodity for the 2018 crop year under the current Farm Bill’s… Read More →

2018 Estate Tax Changes

Posted on January 2, 2018 by tiffany.dowell

With the start of a new year and the passage of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” there are important changes to the federal estate tax. Everyone should take time to understand the current and any new estate tax law and to evaluate his or her estate to determine if estate tax liability may be an issue. Federal Estate Tax Basics The federal estate tax is essentially a tax on a person’s right to transfer property at death. If a person’s taxable estate is valued over the exemption… Read More →

December 1, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on December 1, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

Welcome to December! To those of you joining us for the first time from the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show, welcome! Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. * EPA delays emissions reporting until January 22. As we reported two weeks ago, the deadline for agricultural operations to report emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide if over 100 pounds in a 24 hour period had been November 15. On the eve of that deadline, the EPA announced it would not require reporting… Read More →

College Prep: Draft Power of Attorneys and HIPAA Release Forms

Posted on July 31, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

When a parent prepares to ship a kid off to college, they often think about tuition, the safety of the dorm, and making sure oil is changed in the kid’s vehicle before they leave. A critical item that is often left off the college to do list is having three key legal documents in place: power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and a HIPAA disclosure authorization. Once children reach 18 years of age, their parents are no longer able to automatically make medical or financial decisions on… Read More →

May 12, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on May 12, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

We’ve made it to Friday yet again! Here are some of the legal issues in the news this week. * EPA seeks input from governors on revisions to WOTUS rule. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt sent a letter this week to the 50 state governors seeking input from them on the re-write of the WOTUS rule. He noted the value and importance of local input when writing the new rule. [Read article here.] * Federal judge dismisses legal challenge to North Carolina lawsuit over Property Protection Act. A federal… Read More →

April 28, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on April 28, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

It’s an uncommon occurrence for me, but this week I’ve not been on the road! I did make a presentation via internet technology to a great group of East Texas producers at the Select Beef Producers Meeting on Wednesday. To those of you joining from that group, welcome! Here are a few ag law stories in the news this week. * President Trump Issues Executive Order “Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America.” On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order creating the “Interagency Task Force and Agriculture… Read More →

April 21, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on April 21, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

It has been quite a busy few weeks around here, I apologize for the lack of round up posts. Towards the end of March, I did an online presentation for folks out in Culberson County and then made my way to two great conferences, the Four States Forage Conference in Texarkana and the Texas & Southwest Cattle Raisers Association Convention in San Antonio. So far in April, I’ve been burning up the road and made trips to an extension program in Snyder and a wonderful inaugural Women in… Read More →

March 17, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on March 17, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! And welcome to those of you joining from the Fannin County Ag Law Program we had last week in Bonham. It was a great turn out and a wonderful audience. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news this week. *Travis County Court issues Temporary Restraining Order in case over feral hog poison. The issue of feral hogs is one that has caused problems across Texas. One product on the market for controlling feral hogs is warfarin-based Kaput. The… Read More →

March 3, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on March 3, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

I’m sorry for missing our Round Up last Friday, I was out with sick little ones. Hopefully now, we are all on the mend. Here are some of the ag law stories in the news recently. * How to audit your farm’s I-9 forms. Current immigration issues and discussions have had a lot of folks really paying attention to their employee paperwork. Remember, all employers must have I-9 forms on file for all employees. For more background info on this requirement and the nuts and bolts of completing… Read More →

February 3, 2017 Weekly Round Up

Posted on February 3, 2017 by tiffany.dowell

I’m not quite sure how we are already a month into 2017, but here we are. In the last couple of weeks I have traveled to speak at Extension meetings in Dumas and Lubbock. Welcome to those of you joining from those meetings! Here are some of the ag law stories in the news. *10 Texas oil and gas cases to watch. Chris Halgren compiled a list of 10 Texas Supreme Court cases dealing with oil and gas law worth watching in 2017. His post provides a short… Read More →