Estate Planning

Yes — estate planning isn’t about wealth, it’s about control. If you die without a plan, Texas law decides who inherits your assets, who raises your minor children, and who handles your affairs if you become incapacitated. That default rarely matches what most families would have chosen. A basic plan — will, powers of attorney, medical directive — costs far less than the cleanup if there isn’t one.

A will tells the court how to distribute your assets after probate — meaning your estate still goes through the public, court-supervised probate process. A revocable living trust holds assets during your lifetime and passes them privately, immediately, and without probate. Most Houston families benefit from a combination: a trust for the major assets, and a pour-over will as the safety net for anything missed.

A simple, uncontested probate in Harris County typically takes four to nine months from filing to closure — longer if there’s a will contest, contested heirship, or out-of-state assets. During that window, the estate’s assets are largely frozen: bank accounts, real estate, and brokerage accounts can’t be touched until the court signs off. That delay is exactly what most clients hire us to avoid.

Your estate is distributed by Texas intestacy statutes — a rigid hierarchy that prioritizes spouse, children, parents, and siblings in that order. Step-children, unmarried partners, and friends inherit nothing. Worse, the court appoints an administrator (with bond), property gets divided in ways no one in your family would have wanted, and probate runs longer and costs more than it would have with even a basic will.

Texas has no state estate tax. Federal estate tax only applies to estates above the federal exemption — currently in the multi-millions per person — so most Houston-area families never owe estate tax. What we focus on instead: probate cost, family disputes, asset protection, and step-up-in-basis planning. For high-net-worth clients, we coordinate with a CPA on advanced strategies like gifting, GRATs, and ILITs.

A power of attorney (POA) authorizes someone you trust to handle financial and legal matters if you become incapacitated. Without one, your family has to petition the court for guardianship — a slow, expensive, public process. We pair a statutory durable POA for finances with a medical power of attorney and HIPAA release for healthcare — together they cover the gap between estate planning and end-of-life planning.

Every three to five years at minimum, and immediately after any major life event: marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, death of a beneficiary, large change in assets, or a move out of Texas. Estate plans drafted twenty years ago often reference outdated trustees, ex-spouses, or properties you no longer own. A quick review costs little; a stale plan can cost everything.