Personalized Estate Planning in Texas

Estate planning involves planning for your eventual passing so that your assets are distributed to your loved ones as you wish after you pass away.

Every client’s situation is different, and a good estate plan must take those differences into account. We offer a personal and informative estate planning session with an estate planning attorney, not a paralegal.

During your meeting, we will:

• Discuss your family makeup and relationships, including blended families, children from prior marriages, or loved ones who may need extra care or protection.
• Review your assets and property ownership, including real estate, financial accounts, retirement plans, and business interests.
• Talk through your values and priorities, such as protecting your spouse, minimizing conflict, or planning for incapacity.
• Address any concerns about certain family members—for example, beneficiaries who may have financial or personal challenges.
• Explain, in plain language, how each estate planning tool works, what it costs, and what it accomplishes.
• Answer all of your questions so you fully understand your options before making decisions.

Probate vs Nonprobate Assets– A Central Concept in Estate Planning

If you are wanting to avoid probate (so that your loved ones do not to have to go to probate court), you will want to understand the difference between probate and nonprobate assets. Probate assets must go through the probate court process in order to be distributed. Nonprobate assets bypass probate court altogether. With estate planning, you can make what would otherwise be probate assets become nonprobate assets, thereby bypassing probate court.

For example, if you have valid beneficiary designations in your financial accounts, those accounts pass immediately on your death and do not go into your estate. Beneficiary designations on your financial accounts make those accounts nonprobate assets. That means they are not controlled by your Will or Trust (unless you make your Trust the beneficiary.) The beneficiary designations have to be valid though. The individual has to be alive and their name has to be spelled correctly. Additionally, the beneficiary designations cannot be fraudulent.

If you have placed your assets in a Trust during your lifetime then they are nonprobate assets. If you prepare and execute transfer deeds (Lady Bird Deeds or Transfer on Death Deeds) for your real estate, then the real estate will be a nonprobate asset, meaning that probate court is not required to transfer that real estate to your beneficiaries. That is because it will not be in your estate but instead will pass immediately on your death according to the transer deed. Even business interests can be set up to avoid probate. If your business agreements address what happens to your ownership interest on your death, then those business interests will be nonprobate assets, and they will not be in your estate at the time of death. Property held with “rights of survivorship” passes immediately to the survivors on the death of the property owner.

Why create a trust if you can avoid probate by other means, e.g., transfer deeds, beneficiary designations, rights of survivorship, and business agreements? When you create a Trust, you can protect the inheritance by holding the assets in Trust after your death and not distributing them outright in one lump sum on your death. So, many individuals use a Trust-based estate plan simply because they do not want large lump sum inheritances distributed immediately to the beneficiaries. They are concerned that an outright distribution of an inheritance would be lost due to financial mismanagement, future divorcing spouses, incapacity (e.g. substance use, mental health, or other conditions causing incapacity), bankruptcy, incarceration, or a variety of other reasons. Additionally, Trusts are essential if your heirs are under the age of 18 because minor children under the age of 18 are not able to receive funds directly, and a Trust allows the children to be provided for before they come of age. Otherwise a guardian may need to be appointed for the minor child.

When you create a Trust, you can decide when and how to fund your Trust. You can leave it up to your pourover Will to fund the trust with probate assets on your death, and not worry about funding your Trust during your lifetime. That means however that your pourover Will will have to be probated. If you want your estate to bypass probate (and probate court), then you can fund your Trust with your assets during your lifetime. Funding your Trust means moving your assets into the Trust during your lifetime or immediately on the moment of your death. This Trust funding requires retitling assets and moving them into the trust, or using beneficiary designations and transfer deeds to fund the Trust on the moment of your death. Again, when you use a Trust-based estate plan, you can decide whether you want those assets to be distributed outright to your beneficiaries at the time of death or whether you want those assets to be protected and held in trust and managed and distributed according to the terms of your Trust agreement.

Comprehensive Estate Planning Services

Our office provides a full range of Texas estate planning services, including:

• Wills
• Trusts
• Powers of Attorney and Medical Directives
• HIPAA Releases and Living Wills
• Transfer on Death and Lady Bird Deeds
• Marital Property Agreements (Prenuptial and Postnuptial)
• Business Ownership and Succession Planning
• Guardian Designations for Minor Children

The Value of Working With an Estate Planning Attorney

Online services are inexpensive and convenient, but in my experience, they often end up in probate court due to some error, ommission or oversight, making the Will or Trust invalid or deficient. That said, if you cannot afford to hire an estate planning attorney, it is better to attempt to execute your estate plan on your own because maybe you will be able to execute a legally valid Will or Trust. If, and when, you can afford to hire an attorney, working directly with an experienced Texas estate planning attorney ensures your plan is accurate, effective, and legally enforceable.

When you work with our office, you’ll benefit from:

• A clear understanding of how Texas law applies to your situation.
• Step-by-step explanations of each planning option.
• Guidance on how to coordinate probate and non-probate assets.
• Avoiding mistakes that can cause costly disputes later.
• Confidence that your loved ones will be protected and your wishes honored.

Your estate plan is one of the most important legal investments you can make for your family. We encourage clients to review their plans periodically as life changes—marriage, divorce, new children, or new property—to keep everything current and effective.

Take the Next Step in Protecting What Matters Most

If you’ve been meaning to get your estate plan in order—or if it’s been years since you reviewed it—now is the perfect time to start. The Law Office of Laura Vale, PLLC provides thoughtful, personalized estate planning services to help you protect your loved ones and simplify the future. We’ll take the time to answer your questions, explain your options, and create a plan that gives you peace of mind.

Call or contact Law Office of Laura Vale, PLLC at (210) 588-9881 today to schedule your estate planning consultation and begin building a plan that truly reflects your wishes and your family’s needs.