Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC FindLaw IM Template2026-06-29T14:16:41Zhttps://www.styveslaw.com/feed/atom/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/sites/1502700/2022/02/cropped-favicon-yves-s-32x32.pngOn Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[What is a springing power of attorney?]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472732026-06-29T14:16:41Z2026-06-29T14:16:41ZIn general, a power of attorney is a document that gives an agent the ability to act on another person's behalf. A financial power of attorney may allow that agent to access their bank accounts or pay their bills, for example. A medical power of attorney allows them to authorize medical treatments and work with doctors or nurses.
A springing power of attorney just means that a specific condition has to be met before the power of attorney applies. This condition is what causes it to "spring into effect."For example, many people draft a power of attorney and state that it only goes into effect if they have been declared medically incapacitated. This could happen after a heart attack, a stroke or mental decline due to Alzheimer's or dementia, for instance. Only once they are incapacitated does their agent take over.
What is the benefit of a springing power of attorney?
The benefit of drafting the document this way is that the agent steps in when they are genuinely needed. If the condition is never met, they never have to take any steps on the other person's behalf.This means that a person can draft a power of attorney well in advance. Just because they choose a medical agent today does not mean that they give up the right to make their own medical decisions. That agent only gains that power once the individual in question has been declared incapacitated and cannot make those decisions themselves.It is crucial to know exactly how to set up a power of attorney if you want to use one in your estate plan. An experienced estate planning attorney can assist with this process.
]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[SSDI and the ebb and flow of autoimmune diseases]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472722026-06-12T20:22:32Z2026-06-12T20:22:32ZLiving with an autoimmune disease can be frustrating, partially because symptoms often do not follow a predictable pattern. Many autoimmune conditions involve periods of relative stability followed by painful and debilitating flare-ups. This ebb and flow can make it difficult not only to maintain employment but also to pursue Social Security Disability Insurance benefits.Autoimmune flares present a unique challenge in SSDI cases because the Social Security Administration is not primarily concerned with how a person feels on their best days or their worst ones. Instead, the agency must consider whether the condition prevents substantial gainful employment on a sustained basis. Unfortunately, applicants with fluctuating symptoms sometimes encounter skepticism because they may appear functional during medical appointments or isolated periods of improvement.
Evaluating the strength of an autoimmune claim
Conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease and other autoimmune disorders can cause symptoms that vary dramatically from day to day. During a flare, a person may experience severe fatigue, joint pain, cognitive difficulties, muscle weakness, digestive issues or other symptoms that make work impossible. When the flare subsides, some of those symptoms may temporarily improve.The challenge is demonstrating that recurring episodes are serious enough and frequent enough to interfere with consistent employment. Most jobs require workers to maintain regular attendance, meet productivity expectations and perform reliably throughout the workweek. A person who misses work repeatedly because of unpredictable flares may struggle to maintain employment even if they occasionally have good days.Autoimmune diseases can be particularly difficult because symptoms are not always visible. Fatigue, pain and cognitive impairment may significantly limit a person's ability to work even when outward signs of illness are not obvious.When it comes to autoimmune diseases, disability claims often depend not on isolated good days but on the overall reality of living with an unpredictable and recurring medical condition. An experienced legal team can help autoimmune patients to evaluate their circumstances, gather evidence and submit the strongest possible claim given their unique situation. ]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[Divorce can affect retirement planning]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472702026-06-04T18:54:11Z2026-06-04T18:54:11Zyour retirement plan was created based on the full income of the home. And, it was created to support one home. Now that you’re going through a divorce, that retirement plan may be divided and have to support two homes. The financial impact can affect you now, as well as your long-term retirement goals.
Retirement account considerations
Retirement accounts are often among the largest assets that have to be considered during divorce. These accounts, including 401(k), pensions and individual retirement accounts, may have to be split, but the current face value of the account isn’t what’s considered. Instead, the value is based on long-term valuations.
Another consideration in these situations is how division of any retirement accounts will affect your need to work in the future. In some cases, it becomes clear that you may have to work longer to make up for a shortfall caused by dividing your assets during divorce.
Retirement planning doesn’t stop when you go through the property division process. Instead, you’ll have to take the time to evaluate your retirement plan so you can adjust them to give yourself the best retirement possible. It may be beneficial to work with someone familiar with your case so they can help you to consider the options from a logical standpoint.]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[Can your spouse claim inherited land in a Texas divorce?]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472692026-05-20T15:25:46Z2026-05-20T15:25:46ZWhen inherited land gets complicated
In Texas, inherited land may begin as separate property, but that does not always make property division simple. Property division can become more complicated when inherited land becomes financially tied to the marriage.
For example, using marital funds on inherited land can complicate property division. In some cases, title changes or unclear financial records can add to the dispute.
Financial claims without ownership
In some cases, your spouse may not claim ownership of inherited land itself but may still argue that money spent on the property during the marriage should affect property division. This can happen if marital funds paid down debt, improved the property or helped maintain it.
That does not necessarily mean your spouse will receive part of the land. Instead, the dispute may focus on whether those contributions create a reimbursement claim for the marital estate.
When mineral rights are involved
Some inherited land in Texas may come with mineral rights, royalty payments or other income tied to oil and gas production. When that happens, property division can become more complicated because the land itself may not be the only asset in question. These are some of the issues that can come up in divorce:
Determining whether mineral rights remained separate property
Reviewing whether royalty payments created income disputes
Examining whether lease payments mixed with marital finances
Valuing income that may continue in the future
Separating surface ownership from mineral ownership
Mineral rights can create property division issues that look very different from a typical real estate dispute.
When family legacy is involved
Inherited land can raise issues that go beyond who owns it on paper. Financial contributions during the marriage, income tied to the property or mineral rights can all make property division more complicated.
For some families, inherited land is also part of a legacy they hoped to preserve. That can make divorce disputes over inherited land especially difficult when families hope to keep the property in the family.]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[Why you shouldn’t put estate planning off until you are older]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472682026-05-20T14:37:55Z2026-05-20T14:37:55Z“I’m far too young to think about estate planning. I’ll worry about it when I’m older.” Many a person has said or thought such a thing, and in many cases, it’s not proved an issue for them. Yet, for others and their families, it certainly has.You may envision a long, healthy life ahead of you, but that is not how things always work out. People get severe illnesses or die without warning at all stages of life, and that lack of an estate plan could come back to trouble your loved ones.
The age of majority is old enough to start thinking about estate planning
You can make an estate plan as soon as you hit the age of majority. While you might not own much yet, that does not rule out a plan being useful. Firstly, if you were to die in your prime, those few possessions you do own may feel even more valuable to your loved ones. If you don’t want your best friend and your sister squabbling over who gets your guitar, you can create a basic will to define who gets what.Remember, estate planning also covers situations where you are ill enough to be unable to communicate with doctors, but may still survive. If you know your mother would tell doctors to do anything they could think of to keep you alive after a serious accident, but you’d rather slip out of this world there and then than be resuscitated only to spend the rest of your life unable to do much for yourself, you can make this clear in your plan. You could either spell out what treatments you don’t want or stipulate that someone who understands your wishes better act as your health care power of attorney to coordinate with doctors.
But I might change my mind multiple times
Most elements of an estate plan are updateable. As life goes on, you should review your plan and amend it as necessary to reflect your current preferences and wealth. Getting help to create your first plan can set you on the right path.]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[Potential benefits of a stepparent adoption]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472662026-05-02T12:38:35Z2026-05-02T12:38:35ZWhat rights does adoption provide?
Stepparents gain the same legal rights as any other parents when they officially adopt their stepchildren. If they divorce their spouses, they have a right to shared custody. If their spouse dies, the children can continue living with them. Those rights alone can be invaluable.
However, stepparent adoption also extends key rights and protections to the children. Stepchildren do not have an automatic right of inheritance unless their stepparents add them to a will or trust as beneficiaries, but adoption allows them to inherit even if a stepparent dies without a will.
An adoption can also make a stepchild eligible for critical benefits through their stepparent. Finally, stepparent adoptions help strengthen family relationships and help stepchildren understand that their stepparents love them and are fully committed to them.
Stepparents who step up by adopting their stepchildren may benefit from that choice for the rest of their lives. Discussing the possibility of a stepparent adoption with a spouse and a family law attorney can be helpful, as the process is often not completely straightforward and the consequences are lasting.]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[Why is it easier to qualify for SSDI after age 50?]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472642026-04-22T18:12:30Z2026-04-22T18:12:30ZMost people feel that filing for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits is extremely difficult – and not without reason. The process seems convoluted, the amount of evidence you need in support of a claim is significant and the rules that determine whether or not a claim is approved are hard to understand.
However, once you reach 50 years of age, the entire process gets a bit easier. While the definition of what it means to be “disabled” under the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) rules doesn’t change, the rules used to evaluate your claim do.
The “grid rules” that factor into the decision
SSA uses a set of guidelines known as the medical-vocational rules – or “grid rules” – to evaluate all disability claims. These rules take into account several different factors:
Your age
Your education
Your past work experience
Whether or not your job skills are transferable
Your ability to perform other kinds of work
Once you turn 50, you are considered “closely approaching advanced age” (and you will be considered to be of “advanced” age once you turn 55). At that point, the agency relaxes its expectation that you can simply be retrained to a new kind of work. In comparison, younger workers are expected to adapt and adjust. No matter what your age, SSA will still evaluate your residual functional capacity, or what you are still able to do physically and mentally, despite your condition. However, the impact of those limitations is viewed differently in light of your age. A restriction that might not qualify a 35-year-old for SSDI could be viewed very differently for someone who is 55. For example, imagine a warehouse worker with a back injury that stops them from doing their job. A 35-year-old might be expected to transition to sedentary work and get a desk job somewhere or do customer service. At 55, however, if the worker doesn’t already have the necessary skills to do an office job or customer service work, SSA may decide that transitioning to sedentary work is not realistic. No matter what your age, it is far easier to get an SSDI application approved with the help of an experienced attorney. An attorney can make sure that your information is clear and complete – and presented in a way that is most favorable to your case. ]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[In divorce, what happens to the family home?]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472592026-04-02T17:06:36Z2026-04-02T17:06:36ZFor many Texas couples, the family home is the most significant asset they own. Naturally, in a divorce, the ownership of the home is a primary concern.
Which spouse will remain in the family home (if any)? Can it be sold? Learn more below.
Texas is a community property state
Like its neighbor to the east (Louisiana), Texas is a community property state subject to those rules of ownership. Unless the property was separately owned by one partner before the marriage, the family home is typically jointly owned by both marital partners.
What are the options?
Some spouses with children choose to let one parent remain in the home to provide continuity for the kids. The parents can then negotiate the property settlement with the continued residency included in the decision.Sometimes, a clean break may better serve the parties. Selling the family home outright may provide sufficient funds for both spouses to start over unencumbered by the baggage of their former marriage.
Which works best for you?
By allowing one parent to remain living in the former family home, you may just be kicking the settlement can further down the road. Even if you agree now to sell it after the kids are out of school, nothing guarantees that the property will be damage-free when it’s time to put it on the market. All it takes is for one Cat 4 or 5 hurricane to churn up out of the Gulf and wreak extensive property damage to the home. Also unsure are future market conditions that could substantially inflate or decrease the eventual purchase price.
Confused? Seek professional support
Nobody has to work through these conundrums on their own. Your legal team will brief you on your options and help you come to the negotiating table armed with a strategic divorce plan.]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[What if a life insurance policy is in conflict with a will?]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472582026-03-17T00:56:25Z2026-03-17T00:56:25Zlife insurance policy are in conflict with your will. For instance, maybe you have only named your first-born child as the beneficiary when making that designation on the life insurance policy. However, your second child was born after you purchased the policy, and you neglected to add them to the policy itself. Your will, however, says that the two of them should split the life insurance payout.
The beneficiary designation on the policy takes precedence
In this case, it is very important to understand that the life insurance company is not bound by your estate planning documentation. The only thing that matters to them is the beneficiary designation, so they will follow those instructions and pay the full value of the plan to your elder child.
This can lead to a conflict. Your second-born child will be able to read the estate plan and will understand that you actually wanted them to get a portion of the money. However, your elder child is not legally obligated to do so since the beneficiary designation(s) on the insurance policy takes precedence over what’s in the estate plan.
Careful planning and remembering to update your estate plan as needed can help to avoid the above conflict and many other situations that can lead to estate disputes. Take the time to carefully consider how your estate planning documentation works and how you can set the plan up to best serve your family’s needs. Having experienced estate planning helps.]]>On Behalf of Law Office of Diane St. Yves, PLLC<![CDATA[How many missed visitations can trigger a change in custody?]]>https://www.styveslaw.com/?p=472572026-03-13T12:36:39Z2026-03-13T12:36:39ZTexas now follows a strict three strikes rule
Texas law recently changed to include a formal "three strikes" framework for visitation. Judges no longer just look for general patterns of behavior. Under the current rules, missing a scheduled visitation for three times can trigger mandatory consequences. This law helps build the stability your child needs by holding both parents accountable.
Consider this framework as a legal edge rather than a suggested warning. When a parent misses visitations for the third time, the court must compel them to make-up double time. Additionally, this action can push the judge to re-evaluate both parent’s circumstances. The shift will allow the more responsible parent to seek a permanent modification of the original custody order.
Build a clear record to tell your story
If you want a judge to intervene, you need specific details about each denial. You do not need complex legal terms to win your case. Instead, you need clean facts that match your current court order. Track each missed visit exactly the same way every time to ensure accuracy.
Write down the date and exact pickup time listed in your order
Describe what happened at the specific exchange point or location
Save all text messages and emails regarding the missed visit
Note if you offered make-up time and the other parent's response
Record your child's emotional reaction to the missed visit
Keeping these organized notes helps your attorney present a clear picture of the situation to the court.
Know when enforcement or a change makes sense
Once the other parent misses three visits, you should ask for enforcement. Enforcement focuses on the missed periods and carries penalties for ignoring the court's instructions. In some cases, you might request a schedule change to better fit your current work routine. However, you must provide a solid reason for the court to grant this request.
When to step in and find help
So how many missed visitations trigger action in Texas family courts? While one miss causes frustration, three documented violations now change the legal landscape entirely. Act once your records show these repeated violations disrupt your child's life and routine. Remember that your relationship with your child can continue to grow, even though your relationship with your ex has ended.]]>