Dear Mr. Premack: I read with interest your column regarding a widow’s step-up in basis. My husband recently passed away leaving me as his only heir. We own a farm. Part of it was inherited and part was purchased by the two of us. How would the step-up in basis apply under these circumstances? The farm and our residence are here in Texas. – EW Your letter deals with the taxes you may owe if you later sell any of your real estate. Capital gain tax is calculated by subtracting

I enjoy giving speeches to community groups and residential centers. Last week I was speaking at The Towers, and was asked “I had my Will written by an attorney several years ago. I want to change part of the Will and wonder if I can just cross out the part I don’t like and handwrite the changes on the Will. I want my Will to be legally correct, so, is that a valid way to change a Will? – HZ”. Here is an expansion on the answer that I gave at the speech: Texas law requires th

Dear Mr. Premack: Ten years ago, a good friend and I decided to go into business together. She knew a lot about real estate, and we both had good jobs with money to invest. We set up an LLC, and have used it to purchase a number of rental properties. The cash flow has been positive, and now that property values are better we may sell a few for the gains. Lately, I’ve been concerned about what would happen to my investment should either of us die. Frankly, I don’t ever want to