An estate plan is a collection of legal documents and strategies that outline how your assets, finances, and personal affairs will be managed and distributed upon your death or incapacitation. Having a personalized lawyer-prepared estate plan helps ensure that your intentions are carried out while minimizing taxes, legal fees, and potential disputes among your heirs. Without it, you are leaving your family’s future to chance.

An estate plan is for anyone who seeks peace of mind knowing that their assets (no matter how significant or modest), finances, and personal affairs are organized, managed and distributed according to their wishes in case of death or incapacity. Individuals who own property (including a home, savings and investments, or other valuable possessions), parents with minor children, married couples, blended families, business owners, those who have dependents or family members with disability, and anyone else who wishes to: reduce taxes, avoid significant legal costs, bypass probate, streamline asset distribution and minimize conflicts among heirs needs a trust and will arrangement. Generally speaking, anyone who owns property and wants to prepare for incapacity will benefit from a customized attorney-prepared estate plan.

While it is true that you can create an estate plan using tools and services offered by non-attorneys or one-size-fits-all fill-out-the-blanks forms, estate planning is a state specific area of law. That is why hiring a licensed attorney who works with you ensures that your estate plan is legally sound, customized to carry out your goals and wishes, and as a result, is less likely to face legal complications. Estate laws vary by state, and a licensed attorney will ensure that any complex issues are addressed head-on, will structure your estate plan in accordance with your specific needs, and, in doing so, will save time and money for your loved ones. While DIY documents may promise to be a quick and cheap solution, mistakes can lead to consequences such as assets going to the wrong person or increased legal costs. A licensed attorney helps ensure that your documents are properly executed and are legally binding.

Proceed by scheduling your free initial estate planning session with us through our Schedule an Appointment button located in the right upper corner of this page. Once your appointment is booked, you will receive an estate planning questionnaire sent directly from our secure client portal. Please fill it out and send it back to us prior to your scheduled consultation. Do not omit this important step, it will give us an opportunity to help your loved ones save time, stress, and future legal fees down the road. During our initial estate planning session with you, we will address your specific needs and goals, and describe what a customized estate plan looks like for you and your family.

During your initial estate planning session we will discuss your needs based on your unique family and financial situation. By default, your initial estate planning session is designed to take place virtually from the comfort of your home or any other private place of your choice.

While a comprehensive customized estate plan offers the best protection and peace of mind for you and your loved ones, people without an estate plan face possibility of going through probate, which leads to delays and increased legal fees. If a person dies without a will or trust in Texas, state intestacy laws determine who inherits their estate. This may be contrary to the deceased person’s wishes. It is critical to have an estate plan prepared to ensure that your loved ones are protected.

Probate is a legal process of administering a deceased person’s estate. In Texas, if the deceased died with a will, it must be probated (meaning it has to be recognized by the court as legally valid) in order to be enforced. A person who died without a will or whose will is found by the court to be invalid, is regarded as having died intestate (i.e., without a will), and the state laws of intestacy decide who inherits the deceased person’s estate and who will take care of their minor children. Probate is a public process in Texas. It involves validating the deceased person’s will, appointing an executor or administrator for their estate, identifying and submitting an inventory of their assets to the court, settling debts, and distributing any remaining assets to the estate beneficiaries. Probate administration can be independent or dependent (i.e., court supervised), and the cost and duration of the proceedings can vary significantly between the two. In Texas, a will usually must be probated within 4 years after the deceased person’s date of death.

You can avoid probate in Texas by having a legally valid estate plan prepared during your lifetime. Remember, estate planning is state specific, which means a simple unintended mistake when creating a will-based or trust-based estate plan while using DIY forms can lead to it being void (meaning it is invalid and is legally unenforceable).

Each case is different. Simple probate cases that involve independent administration can take from several months to a year. More complex cases that involve dependent (i.e., court supervised) administration or disputes can take several years.

The cost of probate in Texas depends on such factors as: size and complexity of the estate (with larger and more complex estates facing higher legal and court expenses); type of probate process (i.e., independent vs. dependent administration, muniment of title or small estate affidavit); attorney fees (many attorneys charge hourly rates for their services); court fees (which vary by county and depend on the type of probate); executor fees for administering the estate; appraisal and accounting fees (professional appraisals for assets that require valuation may cost several thousands of dollars); whether the executor requires a probate bond; the existence of debts and claims against the estate; whether the will is being contested; and if there are any other legal disputes associated with the probate in question. All of the above and other factors may affect the cost and length of the probate proceedings, which can range from a few thousands of dollars to more than you would want your loved ones to incur.

The cost of planning is small compared to the burden of dying without a plan. While investing in an estate plan may seem like something you want to postpone or avoid, it is one of the most responsible financial decisions you can make. An estate plan prevents unnecessary conflict among your loved ones and saves them time and money. Estates without clear directives face higher attorney fees, court costs and delays. If you have minor children, having an estate plan is a must as it ensures that your children will be cared for by someone you trust. In a nutshell, investing in a well-structured personalized estate plan may help you shield your assets from creditors and save your beneficiaries time and resources, ensuring more goes to your loved ones rather than is wasted on legal fees, spent on taxes, or distributed to unintended heirs, as well as is being divided in other ways that do not align with your goals and wishes. Estate planning is not only about death, it also addresses incapacity. With powers of attorney and healthcare directives as part of your customized estate plan, your loved ones will not have to go through court battles to manage your affairs if you take care of it ahead of time. We will be able to address the cost of your personalized plan based on your individual goals and needs in more detail during your initial estate planning session.

Whether probate is required depends on the circumstances of each case. The short answer is – it is more likely to be required if you do not have a trust-based estate plan in place. A will-based estate plan will require a probate, as the court must formally recognize will as valid and appoint an executor or administrator to distribute the assets. A well structured trust-based estate plan can help avoid probate entirely.

Assets held in a trust avoid probate and remain private, while an estate which goes through public probate does not. If the deceased died with or without a will, in order to be distributed and in the absence of other strategies, his estate will be probated. Once filed with the court, the will becomes accessible to the public, including such information as names of heirs and beneficiaries, other personal information of the parties, and actions taken by the court. If one wants to maintain his or her affairs private, it is advisable to create a trust-based estate plan.

Our goal is to deliver your personalized plan to you within 6-8 weeks after your initial estate planning session. Once you review and approve the documents, your will signing ceremony will take place. We will provide the notary and the two witnesses (if you do not have them) needed for the will signing ceremony. We will guide you throughout this process and answer all the questions you may have.

While a comprehensive estate plan includes a will alongside other tools for asset protection, tax efficiency and incapacity planning, a simple will is not the same as a carefully tailored estate plan. A well-crafted estate plan helps you avoid probate, whereas a simple will guarantees your estate will go through the court process.

There are several types of Power of Attorney (POA) documents that are part of your estate plan. Each of the POA documents grants different legal authorities to a person appointed to act on your behalf as your trusted person (called your agent). Each of these documents authorizes your agent to handle financial, legal and healthcare related matters for you even if or when you become incapacitated.

Yes. If you are single it is even more crucial that you have your affairs in order and have a trusted person appointed to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated due to an accident or illness, or if you want to leave a meaningful gift to a specific person or organization rather than letting the government decide for you.

We offer a complimentary annual document review to our estate planning clients. We recommend to have your estate plan updated after every major life event, such as: marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, health related concerns, death of a loved one, relocation to a different state, as well as any major financial changes, like: increase or decrease in wealth, property acquisition, or changes to your business. Even if no major event took place, it is advised to have your estate plan updated to ensure it is legally sound and tax efficient every 3-5 years.

As of 2025, Texas does not impose a state inheritance tax, however, laws are subject to change. The federal estate tax exemption for year 2025 is expected to be $13.99 million per individual (multiplied by two for a married couple). If your estate is valued below this threshold, it is not subject to federal estate taxes. Amounts exceeding the exemption are subject to federal estate taxes of up to 40%. However, the current federal exemption is set to expire at the end of 2025, and unless Congress acts, the exemption will revert to approximately $7 million in 2026. Given these considerations, estate planning strategies like trusts may help reduce potential tax liabilities.

Yes. You can set up a living trust that allows you to control your assets during your lifetime with instructions for managing and distributing them to your beneficiaries upon your death. A revocable living trust allows you to modify or revoke it at any time during your lifetime, while an irrevocable living trust usually cannot be changed or revoked once it is set up. The main difference between the two is that the latter one offers potential tax benefits and asset protection, whereas both trusts allow you to avoid probate, maintain privacy and ensure that you retain control over distributions.

We can help you set up a trust with specific conditions preventing this from happening by including provisions on how and when the assets will be distributed to your trust beneficiaries. Additionally, we can help ensure that you select a responsible trustee who will manage the trust after your death. Moreover, you can include constraints such as a requirement for beneficiaries to complete a personal money management course, among other things.

If a person dies without a will in Texas, their assets are distributed according to the state’s intestacy laws, which determine who inherits based on the deceased’s family situation. The Texas Estates Code establishes the order of inheritance. If the deceased was married and had children, the division depends on whether all children were from that marriage. If so, the surviving spouse inherits all community property (which, broadly speaking, is defined as everything acquired during marriage that is not separate property). If the deceased had children from another relationship, the deceased’s half of the community property goes to those children, while the surviving spouse keeps their own half. For separate property, the surviving spouse inherits one-third of personal property and a life estate in real property (meaning they can occupy the marital home for life), with the children inheriting the rest. If there are no children, the spouse inherits all personal property but only half of the separate real property, with the other half going to the deceased’s parents or siblings. If the deceased had no surviving spouse, their children inherit everything equally. If there are no children, the estate passes first to parents, then siblings, and if none survive, to more distant relatives such as nieces, nephews, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. If no living relatives can be found, the estate ultimately escheats to the State of Texas.To ensure your assets are distributed according to your wishes and avoid intestacy laws, having a valid will or a comprehensive estate plan is the best course of action.

Texas is a community property state, meaning that, generally, all property acquired during marriage is jointly owned by both spouses. It means that each spouse has an undivided one-half interest in the community property, regardless of which spouse earned or purchased it. Community property also includes debts incurred during the marriage, which are generally shared by both spouses, unless there are other arrangements in place. Usually, heirs do not personally inherit a deceased spouse’s debts unless those heirs were co-signers or otherwise legally responsible. Unresolved debts are typically settled from the estate before any assets are distributed by the estate executor or administrator.
Upon the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse retains their half of the community property. The other half is distributed according to the will or, in the absence of a will, according to Texas intestacy laws. If the deceased had children from a previous relationship, the deceased’s share of the community property passes to those children. If all children were from the marriage, the surviving spouse inherits the deceased’s share.
Separate property includes assets owned before marriage, as well as property acquired during marriage by gift, inheritance, or personal injury settlements (except for lost wages and medical expenses covered by community funds). To maintain its separate status, separate property must remain distinct from community property. If separate and community assets are commingled, tracing the original source is necessary to prove its separate nature.
Let me use an example to explain: if a spouse used separate property funds to make a down payment on a marital home but the mortgage payments were made with community funds, the home will not be considered purely separate property, but will likely gain a mixed-ownership status (provided you can prove the separate status of the portion used as the down payment). Therefore, having a comprehensive estate plan prepared by a licensed estate planning attorney is essential. It will help you avoid any confusion over asset classification in the future, which will ensure your property is distributed according to your wishes.

Digital assets include a broad set of assets depending on which institution categorizes it. From a legal perspective, a digital asset means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. Some examples include: an email, a phone, a cloud storage, a social media account, a dating app profile, online games, text messages, a DNA tracing website account, a personalized IP address, an e-commerce platform, etc. IRS broadly defines digital assets and includes in that category such items as convertible virtual currency, cryptocurrency, stablecoins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The financial industry generally refers to cryptocurrencies and NFTs as digital assets. We may refer to additional items as digital assets, and one asset may and often does have many stakeholders. Some legal contracts we enter into when we sign up for an app or create a profile online are legally enforceable even after our death. Additionally, many people today monetize their online presence, and their earnings may continue to accumulate even after their death. With the development of AI, Metaverse and the growth of cryptocurrency, the widespread online fraud and identity theft are prevalent. It is important to have your digital assets organized and well protected. In Texas, digital assets do not automatically transfer to your heirs unless you provide for it in your estate plan. You need to include specific provisions in your estate plan outlining how you want your digital assets to be distributed after your death.