Paul Premack
Estate Planning, Probate, Elder Law in Texas and in Washington State
Paul Premack is a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation. He was a founding member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and has been a NAELA member since 1989.
His practice encompasses estate planning for individuals, couples and families of all ages, probate to assist surviving heirs when a family member dies, and elder law to assist clients with specific legal challenges. Paul is a Geriatric Scholar via the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Paul has written the legal column for the San Antonio Express-News and other Hearst Newspapers. His column archives are located at www.premack.com.
He is the author of "Thinking Beyond Tomorrow," served as 2019-20 President of the Texas Chapter (National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys), is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Washington State Bar Association, the San Antonio Bar Association, and the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law section of the State Bar. Paul is a Life Fellow of the San Antonio Bar Foundation and is a Fellow of the College of the State Bar of Texas.
- University of Houston - Main Campus
- Doctor of Jurisprudence/Juris Doctor (J.D.) (1982) | Law
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- Principal Attorney
- The Premack Law Office
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- President
- Texas Chapter, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
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- San Antonio Express News, Premack Column Archive
- San Antonio Express News
- Thinking Beyond Tomorrow
- Longview
- Advance Directives, UT Austin School of Law and Texas NAELA 2018 Summer Conference, Galveston, TX
- UT Austin
- Certified Elder Law Attorney
- National Elder Law Foundation
- Barbara Kishpaugh Award
- San Antonio Bar Association Elder Law Division
- National Elder Law Foundation
- Certified Elder Law Attorney
- Current
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- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Member
- Current
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- Texas Bar College
- Fellow
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- Texas State Bar # 16245900
- Member
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- Texas Chapter, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- President
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- Texas
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- Washington
- Washington State Bar Association
- ID Number: 56168
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- Free Consultation
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Credit Cards Accepted
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- Probate
- Probate Administration
- Estate Planning
- Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills
- Elder Law
- English: Spoken, Written
- Q. My husband and I will make our wills in Texas. We are retiring in Puerto Rico. Will out will be valid there?
- A: It is always best to make your estate plan in the jurisdiction where you are living. If you are moving away from Texas to Puerto Rico for retirement, then wait until you have moved, see a lawyer in Puerto Rico, and make your estate plan under PR law. That said, a valid Texas Will requires at minimum your instructions, your signature, and two witnesses. Puerto Rico is similar, so a Will made in Texas should be valid in PR. However, each jurisdiction has its own unique legal standards for court supervision, bonding of the Executor, proof of the Will's validity, etc. If you are retiring in PR and are planning to live there the rest of your life (and to die there someday) you will want a Will made under PR law, not TX law. You will have to ask an attorney in PR if their law includes any required devises. Generally, you should be able to leave all assets to each other at the first death, without anyone else having any entitlement. But at the second death, some jurisdictions will enforce certain devises. Again, ask counsel in PR what is the local law there.
- Q. : Me and my boyfriend of 12 years bought property together and built a home for retirement.
- A: There are a number of legal issues you must consider. Since you are not married, the purchase would be classified as creating separate property owned partially by each of you. However, Texas has a "common law marriage" regime that could allow either of you to claim marriage and try to classify the property as community property. So first, you should be clear on your relationship, even to the point of having a Relationship Agreement that specifies you are not and will not claim to be married. Second, you can each put your interests in the house into a joint trust, or you could each put your shares into separate trusts with differing goals. Trusts are very flexible and can be structured to meet a wide variety of goals, so you need to agree on those goals. You can agree to make the trust revocable or not, amendable or not, and you can decide who will be allowed to use the house, when, if/when it can be sold, and what happens when each of you dies. I do strongly suggest you make an appointment with an experienced estate planning / trust attorney. Go for a video consultation to protect yourselves during the pandemic.
- Q. What EXACTLY has to be included in an I&A in re: to “personal” or “intellectual” property?
- A: You should be addressing this question to the lawyer who you hired to represent you in the probate matter. While the law in Texas is the same across all of the counties, each county has a different Judge or Judges who hear probate matters. Some counties have very experienced statutory probate Judges. Some counties have only their "County Judge" who may not even be a lawyer. Each Judge has different expectations for the Inventory and Appraisement. The attorney who is representing you should know what the Judge in that county expects, so ask your lawyer.