Do I Need a Lawyer to Prepare My Estate Plan in Texas?

If you are ready to put together your estate plan, there are several reasons why you will want to work closely with an experienced lawyer throughout the process. Here are just some of these reasons:

1. You Need an Estate Plan that is Custom-Tailored to Your Individual Circumstances

First and foremost, you need an estate plan that is custom-tailored to your individual circumstances. Everyone’s circumstances are unique, and this means that everyone’s estate plan will have (or should have) unique aspects as well.

An experienced estate planning lawyer will be able to help you develop an estate plan that takes into account your personal family and financial circumstances. Your lawyer can also help ensure that you give due consideration to all relevant circumstances so that you do not leave any questions unanswered and do not force your family to go through the probate process unnecessarily.

2. You Need an Estate Plan that is Enforceable Under Texas Law

Each state has its own laws governing the enforceability of estate plans—and even the enforceability of specific provisions within wills, trusts, advance healthcare directives, and other estate planning tools. If you live in Texas, you need to ensure that all of the provisions of your estate plan are enforceable under Texas law.

An experienced estate planning lawyer will be able to help ensure that you and your loved ones will be able to rely on your estate plan when the time comes. An experienced estate planning lawyer will also be familiar with the types of provisions that have a tendency to lead to confusion (and disputes), and will be able to help ensure that your estate plan leaves no room for interpretation.

3. There Are Lots of Important Issues You Will Want to Consider

Regardless of your individual circumstances, there are lots of important issues you will want to consider during the estate planning process. Some examples of these issues include:

• Who do you want making healthcare decisions for you if you become incapacitated?
• How do you want to manage your end-of-life care?
• Who do you want to appoint to manage your final affairs after your death?
• How do you want to distribute your assets after your death?
• What can (and should) you do to minimize any tax liability related to your estate plan?

This is just a small sampling. When you hire an experienced lawyer to guide you through the estate planning process, your lawyer will be able to walk you through all of the important decisions you need to make so that your loved ones will have clear guidance in the future.

4. There Are Lots of Estate Planning Tools You Will Want to Consider

Just as there are lots of issues you will want to consider, there are lots of estate planning tools you will want to consider as well. These, too, are just examples:

• Wills
• Revocable trusts
• Irrevocable trusts (including Medicaid-qualifying trusts and life insurance trusts)
• Advance healthcare directives
• Powers of attorney

When putting together an estate plan, it is critical to choose the estate planning tools that are best-suited to your specific goals and needs. There is no one “right” way to build an estate plan. What is right for someone else won’t be right for you—and this, again, makes it essential to take a custom-tailored approach to the process.

5. You Will Want to Make Sure You Have the Flexibility to Make Changes Over Time

Regardless of your age, you will want to make sure you have the flexibility you need to make changes to your estate plan over time. Various changes in circumstances can necessitate changes to your estate plan. An experienced estate planning lawyer will build in the flexibility you need—and, when you need to make changes, your lawyer will be able to make these changes efficiently on your behalf.

6. Your Estate Planning Lawyer Can Help Ensure You and Your Family Are Prepared for the Future

From keeping a copy of your estate plan in his or her files to ensuring that relevant family members know what to do when the time comes, your estate planning lawyer can help ensure that you and your family are prepared for the future. If you have an estate plan but no one knows where it is or knows what to do with it, it won’t serve its intended purpose.

7.  Working with a Lawyer Will Give You and Your Family Much-Needed Peace of Mind

Finally, working with a lawyer to prepare a comprehensive, custom-tailored, and legally enforceable estate plan will give you and your family much-needed peace of mind. If you and your loved ones know that you are prepared for the future, you can move forward with confidence. Conversely, if you have lingering questions about whether your DIY estate plan will work when you need it to—and these are indeed legitimate questions—you might not find out until it is too late.