Estate planning, explained plainly.
Estate planning is how you put your wishes in writing and decide who can act for you and the people you care about, now and later.
What estate planning can address
Your property
How you want property managed and passed on.
People who can act for you
Who can make financial or legal decisions if needed.
Health-care decisions
Who can speak for you and how you want certain medical decisions handled.
Children and family
Planning for the people who depend on you.
Keeping the plan current
Reviewing the plan as your life and circumstances change.
Not everyone needs the same plan. The right combination of documents depends on your goals, your family, your property, and your circumstances.
Common estate-planning tools
The firm generally works with a set of tools that can be combined depending on what fits your situation:
- Wills
- Put important instructions in writing and identify how you want your estate handled.
- Trusts
- Explore whether a revocable living trust or other trust-based planning is appropriate for your goals.
- Powers of Attorney
- Name someone you trust to manage financial matters on your behalf if you're unable to.
- Health-Care Planning
- Name a medical decision-maker and document your own wishes about certain treatment.
- Planning for Children
- Make informed decisions involving guardians and planning for minor children.
- Trust Funding
- Understand why transferring ownership of property into a trust matters to a trust-based plan.
- Funding your Trust
- Deeds for real estate and other transfer mechanisms for assets, to fund a trust or transfer real property.
- Reviewing or Updating an Estate Plan
- Understand when changed circumstances may make it appropriate to review or update an existing plan.
See Information & Guides for a fuller, organized index of educational pages on each of these topics.
Life events that may lead someone to update a plan
Circumstances change, and an estate plan that made sense at one point may need to be revisited later. Common reasons people reach out include a marriage or divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, a significant change in property or finances, moving to Texas from another state, or simply not having looked at an existing plan in some time.
How the firm's process works
The process generally starts with a conversation; moves into the questions, priorities, and decisions necessary before your estate plan is designed; a final estate plan design with structure is agreed, and a complete package of your estate plan documents is produced. Signing is not an endpoint for trust-based estate plans, which require funding with your assets conveyed to your trust.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a will or a trust?
The answer depends on your goals, assets, family circumstances, and how you want your plan to work. You do not need to decide which one you need before contacting the firm.
Can the firm review an estate plan I already have?
Yes. An existing plan can be reviewed when circumstances or preferences change.
What if I don't know which estate-planning documents I need?
That's normal. Tell the firm what you're trying to accomplish rather than trying to diagnose your own legal needs.
Does filling out the Get Started form make me a client?
No. Submitting an inquiry or scheduling a conversation does not by itself establish an attorney-client relationship.
Tell us what you need.
Start with a few questions. No legal terminology required.
