Terry Lynn Garrett
Unlock Your FutureTerry Garrett advises people in Central Texas who are preparing for and enjoying their retirement years and people with special needs and their families. Her clients range from couples who are just starting out and people who want to stay in charge during retirement to families with multinational businesses. Having worked and studied in Asia for many years, she also enjoys advising on transnational planning. Terry Garrett graduated with honors from Cornell University. She was on the Dean's List at Wharton Business School. She earned her J.D. at Columbia Law School, receiving the Parker Award and a Melon Fellowship. She attended the Harvard Law School Negotiation Program and earned every certificate offered by the New York Institute of Finance. She is active in the Texas and Austin Bar Associations and a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is an Approved Guardianship Attorney and is appointed by Central Texas courts in heirship proceedings. She handles pro bono cases for Volunteer Legal Services, the Austin Bar Association and the Women's Resource Fair. Mother of a child with special needs, she also teaches for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Over the years she has volunteered for the Council on Adoptable Children, the AFS foreign exchange student program, Cornell Cares, Hands on Housing and as an officer of the Harmony PTO.
- Estate Planning
- Elder Law
- Probate
- Special Needs Planning
- Credit Cards Accepted
- New York
- Texas
- Chinese
- Japanese
- The Garrett Law Firm, PLLC
- Current
- Columbia University
- J.D. (1983) | law
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- Honors: Parker Award, Mellon Fellowship
- Activities: President, International Law Society; International Law Review, Environmental Law Review; Chinese and Japanese law study groups
- Top Elder Lawyer
- Austin Monthly
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Current
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- National Guardianship Association
- Current
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- Texas State Bar # 24048146
- Member
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- Austin Bar Association
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- Illegal Skilled Nursing Facility Discharges: Appealing Medicare Notice of Nonpayment
- Texas Elder Law Flash
- Noncitizens and Public Benefits , 2020 UT Special Needs Trust Conference , Austin, Texas
- University of Texas School of Law
- Approved Guardianship Attorney
- State Bar of Texas
Pet Trusts and Tips
With a pet trust, you can plan for your pet’s future and ensure your companions are taken care of in the event something unexpected happens to you. Paying for their care may make it easier to find someone to provide that care.
How To Pay Your Estate Planning Lawyer Less
These three simple steps will help you save on both legal fees and taxes...if you start now. They'll also help you get your documents organized and stay organized. You’ll pay yourself well for the time you spend by having to pay your estate planning lawyer less. The earlier you start, the more you can do.
Whats So Special About Special Needs
People with special needs can be included and lead meaningful lives with the right services and support. We can help someone grow and contribute to and enjoy life by helping them put those supports and services in place.
Best Gifts for Grandma and Gramps
This year, instead of socks and perfume, consider gifts which will make life better all year round for your grandparents. Gifts which make it easier, safer and more enjoyable to live at home are available for every budget. Consider these 19 best gifts for grandparents this holiday season and all year.
Estate Planning: How To Save the Family Home
In Texas, you can leave your home to your children free of Medicaid Estate Recovery and still have control of it while you are alive.
Make Room for Baby
The nursery is ready. Are you? Children may be our greatest treasure. Even before they arrive, we begin to protect them. When they do arrive, we often get so caught up in being parents that we forget to take some very important steps.
Special Needs Trust
Creating a trust to benefit a person with special needs is important whether your family member became disabled as a child or you became disabled as an adult. Watch this video for more information on a Special Needs Trust.
General Legal Tips - Probate
Probate sounds like such a scary word, like reprobate or probation, but all it really means is settling your estate, proving what you have, proving who you owe, and distributing the rest to your heirs. In Texas, it can be relatively simple. Watch this video for more information on probate in Texas.
5 Easy Things - Legal Documents Every Texan Should Consider
Five legal documents every Texan should consider.
- Q. My dad died, step mom is beneficiary on life insurance. Are his children entitled to any of that or His pensions?
- A: She is entitled to the life insurance and anything else on which she is named the beneficiary. The 401k passes to her unless she wrote the plan administrator waiving her right to it.
- Q. My Grandfather passed away in 2018 - His assets were split 3 ways between my Mom, Uncle and Aunt. My Mom was in the
- A: In Texas inherited property is always separate property. It passes to the spouse if all children of the deceased are also children of the surviving spouse. The children only have a share if there are children of the deceased who are not children of the surviving spouse.
- Q. TRYING TO FILL OUT SMALL ESTATE PAPERWORK AN NEED HELP
- A: When people try to complete these on their own, half are rejected. There are some persnicketty, non-obvious points. When people use a lawyer, 90% are accepted. A word to the wise?
