Wills and Trusts

In Texas, if a married person dies without a Will or Living Trust, his surviving spouse will inherit only 1/3 of his separate property.

Under Texas law, if a married person dies without a Will or Living Trust and has children from a previous marriage, 100% of the deceased spouse's probate community property will go to his children --not to the surviving spouse.

In Texas, if you include special language in your Will requesting an independent administration, you can potentially save your heirs thousands of dollars in legal fees when they probate your Will.

If your heirs are still minors at the time of your death, you can avoid the need for expensive guardianship proceedings on their behalf if you set up trusts for them in your Will or Living Trust.

If you name in your Will your preference of who your minor child's guardian will be, your wishes will stand a greater chance of being enforced after your death.

If you die with a taxable estate and if you include special tax-planned trusts in your Will or Living Trust, your family or heirs can potentially avoid several hundred thousand dollars of federal Estate Tax.

You are more likely to avoid hurt feelings and family discord if you have an estate planning attorney draft clear, unambiguous, instructions in your Will or Living Trust as to how your estate is to be handled and distributed.