FAQ
Estate planning questions we hear most often.
Direct answers to estate planning questions Houston families ask before an attorney consultation. Call +1 713-424-0804 for advice specific to your situation.
FAQ
Wills & Trusts
Estate planning is the process of documenting your decisions about who receives your assets, who makes decisions for you during incapacity, and how your affairs are managed after your death. In Texas, most adults need a will, a durable financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, and a directive to physicians to have a complete foundational plan.
Estate planning is not only for people with significant wealth. If you have children, own property, hold accounts, or have any preference about your own medical care, you have reasons to put a plan in writing. A plan prepared while you are healthy and not under any specific pressure is a more considered plan than one prepared in a crisis.
If you die without a will in Texas, state intestacy law determines who inherits your estate. For a married person with children from the marriage, Texas law typically divides the community property between the surviving spouse and the children rather than leaving everything to the spouse.
Texas intestacy follows a priority order: spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings and their descendants. The exact division depends on whether assets are community property or separate property and whether any children are from a prior relationship. Dying without a will also means the court appoints an administrator you did not choose, and the estate may require a dependent administration with ongoing court oversight.
A will takes effect at death, passes through the Texas probate process, and is a public record. A revocable living trust takes effect during your lifetime, distributes assets at death outside of probate, and remains private. Both can name beneficiaries and conditions; the right choice depends on your assets and family circumstances.
A trust has a higher upfront cost because it requires drafting plus transferring assets into the trust (called "funding"). For many Texas families, a will with a Lady Bird deed for real property achieves the same probate-avoidance result as a trust, at lower total cost. For families with property in multiple states, blended families, or strong privacy preferences, a trust often makes more sense.
Texas law does not require an attorney to prepare a will. You may write a holographic (entirely handwritten) will yourself, with no witnesses needed, or sign a typed will before two disinterested witnesses. Both are legally valid if properly executed.
The risk with a self-prepared will is not usually technical validity. The risk is whether the document says what you intended. Common problems include poorly worded beneficiary designations, missed community property considerations, and failure to address what happens if a named beneficiary predeceases you. For most families, the cost difference between a self-prepared will and a professionally drafted one is modest.
A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement you create during your lifetime to hold your assets. You remain in control of the trust and can change or revoke it at any time. At your death, the trust distributes assets to your named beneficiaries without going through probate.
Texas is a favorable probate state. Independent administration (available when your will provides for it or all heirs agree) requires limited court involvement. For many Texas families, a will combined with beneficiary designations and a Lady Bird deed achieves probate avoidance at lower cost than a full trust. We do not recommend trusts as a default; we recommend them when the facts of your situation support them.
FAQ
Powers of Attorney
A Texas durable power of attorney is a legal document that designates an agent to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. "Durable" means the authority remains effective after incapacity, unlike a standard power of attorney that terminates when capacity is lost.
The durable power of attorney is one of the most important documents in an estate plan. Without it, a family member who needs to pay your bills, access your accounts, or manage your property during your incapacity may have no legal authority to do so without a court-granted guardianship, which is a time-consuming and expensive process.
A Texas medical power of attorney designates an agent to make healthcare decisions on your behalf when you cannot make them yourself, including decisions about surgery, hospitalization, medication, and care facility placement. It is separate from a directive to physicians (living will).
Your medical agent makes real-time decisions within the framework set by your directive to physicians. Under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 166, a medical power of attorney must be signed before two qualified witnesses or a notary. Certain people, such as your healthcare providers and their employees, cannot serve as witnesses.
A Texas Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates states your preferences about life-sustaining treatment if you are terminally ill or remain in an irreversible condition. It gives your doctors written instructions when you cannot communicate your own wishes.
Texas law recognizes two categories of conditions in which a directive becomes operative: terminal conditions (death expected within six months without life-sustaining treatment) and irreversible conditions (permanent incapacity requiring life-sustaining treatment for survival). You can state your preferences differently for each category.
FAQ
Lady Bird Deeds
A Lady Bird deed (formally, a Texas enhanced life estate deed) transfers real property to a named beneficiary at your death while preserving your full ownership rights during your lifetime, including the right to sell, refinance, or change the named beneficiary without the beneficiary's consent. The transfer at death bypasses probate.
The Lady Bird deed is one of the most widely used estate planning tools in Texas, particularly in elder law planning. Because you retain full control during your lifetime, the eventual transfer at death is not treated as a disqualifying gift under Medicaid's look-back rules. The deed is recorded with the county clerk during your lifetime but has no effect on ownership until your death.
A Texas transfer-on-death (TOD) deed and a Lady Bird deed both transfer real property to a named beneficiary at death and bypass probate. The main practical difference is that a TOD deed can be revoked by recording a revocation, while a Lady Bird deed allows the grantor to sell or encumber the property without the beneficiary's consent during the grantor's lifetime.
Both are valid instruments under Texas law. TOD deeds are authorized under Texas Estates Code Chapter 114. Lady Bird deeds rely on long-standing Texas common law principles. The right choice between the two depends on your specific circumstances, your plans for the property during your lifetime, and whether Medicaid eligibility is a consideration.
FAQ
Planning Process
The right time to start estate planning in Texas is before you need it. Most adults benefit from at least a will and powers of attorney by the time they have a spouse, a child, a property, a business, or a healthcare preference they want honored. Waiting for a crisis means planning under pressure.
Common triggers that bring people in: a new child or grandchild, a property purchase, a marriage or divorce, a business sale, a serious illness in the family, or an aging parent's care crisis. Life events that require updating an existing plan include the death of a named executor, agent, or beneficiary, a significant change in assets, or a move to or from Texas.
We recommend reviewing your Texas estate plan every three to five years regardless of specific life changes, and immediately after any major event: a marriage, divorce, birth, death, significant asset change, or move to or from Texas. Tax law and Medicaid rules change, and your documents should reflect current law.
A document prepared five years ago may not reflect current Texas Estates Code provisions, current federal estate tax thresholds, or current Medicaid rules. Powers of attorney that are more than a few years old can sometimes be questioned by financial institutions or healthcare providers. Keeping them current prevents that friction when your family most needs to act quickly.
FAQ
Costs & Timing
Estate planning attorney fees in Texas depend on which documents your situation requires and the complexity of your estate. A foundational package (will, durable financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and directive to physicians) costs less than a trust-based plan, which requires additional drafting and asset-transfer work.
We provide a fee estimate after the initial consultation, once we understand your situation and which documents it calls for. The cost of a properly prepared plan is a fraction of the probate fees, court costs, and legal fees that an unprepared estate typically costs a family. It is also a fraction of what a contested guardianship costs when there is no power of attorney.
A straightforward Texas estate plan, from initial consultation to signed documents, typically takes two to four weeks. More complex plans involving trusts, asset transfers, or multi-state property may take longer, depending on the number of documents involved and the time required for review and coordination.
The initial consultation takes roughly an hour. We typically deliver draft documents within one to two weeks after that for review. Signing is coordinated once you are satisfied with the documents. If you have an urgent need, let us know at the outset and we can discuss whether an accelerated timeline is workable.
SEE ALSO
- Estate Planning area of guidance pageFull description of all sub-services
- All articles and guides
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