Planning ahead for your loved ones.

Estate planning is one of the most often overlooked legal steps every individual needs to make sure they have completed. Estate planning makes up about 65% of my practice, and I am very glad that it does, because it is so needed. Funny story, after I graduated law school in 2013 and became a practicing attorney, I went for nearly 4 years without getting my own last will and testament, general and medical powers of attorney, and advance directive to physicians. Can you believe that, here I am advising everyone to obtain these things and I didn’t even have them myself. That problem has since been corrected.

If you own real estate or have children it is imperative that you get a last will and testament completed. Even more so if you are married and in a blended family (ie. your spouse has children from a prior relationship/marriage). This document legally transfers everything you own that is classified as a probate asset to your beneficiaries, who are oftentimes your spouse, children, or other close family or friends. Many people think that by just completing the will everything is set, but that isn’t the case. Also, a common misconception is that you need to file the will at the courthouse after you get it done, but please do not do this! It is not necessary to do. However, do make sure you keep the original will somewhere safe where you know you can find it when you need it.

After you die, your executor or executrix (if a woman) needs to take the will to the court to probate the will. Often times this is done with the assistance of an attorney. The court will review the will and make sure that it complies with the requirements of Texas law and will then sign an order probating the will.

Things aren’t done there though. The executor must then go about paying the deceased’s debts, filing the the final tax return, and making distributions of the deceased person’s property to the beneficiaries as specified by the terms of the will. Once most of administration of the estate is done, the executor will then file an inventory with the court to provide a snapshot of the estate and the probate is then effectively complete. It isn’t all that uncommon that things pop up down the line, however, so usually it is best to keep the estate open, although it can be closed.

The general power of attorney allows a trusted person to make business and financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated and are unable to do so yourself. Likewise, the medical power of attorney allows a trusted person to make medical decisions for you if you become incapacitated and are unable to do so yourself. These are important documents to have completed should something unexpected happen to you and you become incapacitated.

The advance directive to physicians is a document that states your wishes for end of life care once certain critical medical conditions have been met. This is also an important document to have completed before you need it of course.

As you can see, estate planning is very important and you should not delay getting it completed if you have not already done so. Hopefully this post provides some helpful information regarding estate planning and why it is so important.

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