Warning: Why Being Married Does Not Mean Your Spouse Gets Everything When You Die

Don Ford III is a Board Certified attorney in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, the highest distinction available to Texas attorneys in this practice area. He is also a trained mediator, having completed certification coursework at Pepperdine University School of Law’s Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, with a focus on probate and guardianship matters.Appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas to the Guardianship Certification Board, Mr. Ford has served as Chair of its Rules Committee, helping shape policy and regulation for private professional guardians across Texas.A Baylor University graduate with degrees in Accounting and Law, Mr. Ford also pursued postgraduate taxation coursework and began his career as a tax attorney with a large international accounting and consulting firm. His background in tax, estate planning, probate, and guardianship supports his work at Ford+Bergner as a leading estate planning and probate attorney in Texas.In this episode…Most married people assume that if they die, everything automatically goes to their spouse. It sounds simple, but estate planning attorney Don Ford says that assumption is one of the most common and costly mistakes he sees — and in some states, it is simply not how the law works. What does actually happen to your assets if you die without a will, and who ends up with what you worked your whole life to build?Don breaks down the real consequences of skipping the planning process — from family disputes over who gets the china, to business owners who wake up one day with a $50 million company and no plan to protect it from a massive tax bill. He also shares the story of a DIY will that used six words that ended up meaning two completely different things to two different people, and how that single document tore a family apart in court. The details people leave out, or get wrong, matter far more than most realize.In this episode of Verdict Signal, host Daniel Gouw interviews Don D. Ford III, managing partner of Ford + Bergner LLP and one of fewer than 3% of Texas attorneys to earn Board Certification in Estate Planning and Probate from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. With offices in Houston, Dallas, and Austin, Don brings over 25 years of experience helping families protect what they have built, from drafting wills and trusts to litigating contested estates. The conversation covers everything from probate and powers of attorney to the new $15 million estate tax exemption and the coming wave of generational wealth transfer. Tune in to learn how to make informed choices that protect what you build.Want to be featured in the Verdict Signal Podcast?Register here: https://ednadm.com/verdict-signal-application