Estate planning is the idea of passing one's estate to family members with the least amount of court intervention and with the least amount of federal estate taxes.  Trusts are one estate planning tool.  A trust is a document that allows you to transfer property to loved ones using a trustee to carry out your instructions.  Other estate planning tools are family limited partnerships, charitable contributions, as well as gifting plans.  No one tool works for everyone.  This is why it is so important to work with legal counsel when preparing your estate plan.  Also, estate planning is not just for the very rich.  Most individuals, no matter of net income or net worth, can benefit from some degree of estate planning.

Probate and Wills

Texas probate

    Probate is the process by which you prove that a person is deceased and who should be entitled to the deceased's property. Property from a decedent is distributed either according to a will (usually by letters testamentary) or by intestacy if there is no will (by letters of administration). Sometimes, a probate court procedure is required in order to clear title to property only (usually by a muniment of title.) If a will has been probated in another state, but there is property that needs to be handled in Texas, then an ancillary probate action may be required in order to clear title to the Texas property.

    When someone dies in Texas or with property in Texas, without a will, documentation or court proceedings may be required to prove who owns the deceased's property. There are several mechanisms available to demonstrate the transfer, depending on the circumstances and the size of the deceased's estate. These procedures include heirship affidavits, small estate affidavits, a motion to determine heirship, and a motion to determine common law marriage. For more complex estates, or in a wrongful death / survivor action matter, a motion to appoint an administrator or personal representative of an estate may be necessary.



Texas Estate Planning

    We regularly draft wills, guardianship declarations for minor children, trusts, revocable living trusts, probate avoidance, medical power of attorney, durable power of attorney. We also have a package service that includes the drafting of a will (either with or without a trust), a durable power of attorney, guardianship declaration, medical power of attorney and living will for one low price. Please see the individual descriptions of available documents listed below.



Drafting Wills in Texas

    A will is a set of instructions that list how you want your property disposed in the event of your death. Our services include wills for married couples, unmarried couples, life partners and single people. You can choose to dispose of your property by outright gifts, or by trusts (see below).



Texas Trusts

    A trust is an instrument by which you transfer property (called the res) to a person or corporation (trustee) for the benefit of another person (beneficiary). Trusts come in several types. The most common trust is one made incident to a will. In this scenario, a person plans for property to pass from his or her estate to a trustee, for the benefit of a minor child. Upon that person's death, the trustee collects the property designated in the will, and distributes the funds to the child, per the trust terms. A common example is to provide periodic payments from the trust for the child's health, education, maintenance and support until the child reaches the age of 21. At that time, the trustee either distributes the rest of the trust outright, or continues to make periodic payments per a predefined schedule.

    Other trusts include trusts made during a person's lifetime, known as inter vivos trusts. These trusts are either revocable (you can change at any time during your life, but they cannot be changed after your death or incapacity) or irrevocable (they are unchangeable). These trusts may require that you transfer assets to the trust during your life time. Often included with these trusts is a "pour-over" will, which transfers at your death any property that you did not transfer to the trust during your life. Other trusts include trusts to be funded with life insurance policies.



Physician's Directives

    Also known as "Living Wills", "Do not resuscitate" (DNR) orders, and "Advance directives", these instruments notify health care providers in advance what sorts of artificial life support you would like, if any, if you are ever diagnosed as being in an persistent vegetative state.



Texas Power of Attorney

    A power of attorney document allows another to sign your name to documents and contracts for you. You can restrict the powers (called a limited power of attorney) or have the person sign just about anything on your behalf (called a general power of attorney.) Limited powers of attorney are handy if you need someone to sign your name to a specific contract. For example, if you need for someone to sign your name to a specific real estate closing contract while you are unavailable, you would sign a limited power of attorney, granting that person the power to sign your name to a specific contract.

    The power of attorney can take effect either immediately, or in the event of a later incapacity. If you have a power of attorney document that is not affected by a subsequent incapacity, then you have a 'durable' power of attorney. Additionally, the power to sign someone's name with a power of attorney document ceases when the person who executed the power of attorney document dies. In other words the power of attorney dies with the person who granted the power.

    The durable power of attorney document is useful in that it allows someone to manage your affairs during a period of incapacity. A power of attorney document cannot be used to draft a will for another, however. The person who receives the power of attorney will owe a duty to the person granting the power. The power may be revoked at any time.



Medical Power of Attorney documents

    A medical power of attorney document specifies who can make medical decisions on your behalf, if you are ever in a situation where you need medical help, but are unable to communicate your wishes. There are also advance notifications about what types of medical service you would or would not want.



Guardianship declarations

    There are two main types of declarations used in this type document. Guardianship declarations for adults specify a person that would manage the day to day care of your person and your property if you ever became incompetent. The second type of declaration is a designation of a guardian for a minor child, should the need arise. Although this is typically done through a will, it can be done through a stand alone document as well.



Guardianships

    Guardianship is the process by which an applicant will demonstrate to a probate court that an adult is not capable of managing his or her own care and matters. If the probate court finds that the person is not capable, then it will appoint a guardian (typically the applicant) to manage the affairs of the person (called the 'ward'.)