Estate planning doesn’t have to be overly complicated. While it’s important to make sure your plan is thorough, accurate, and thoughtful, you should also be able to draw up your documents without too much stress. To aid in that process, today we offer five tips that you can use to help guide your estate planning journey in Texas.
Tip 1: Start Early
Some people think that estate plans are only for older adults or for those with a lot of money. In reality, it’s never too early to start your estate plan. Without a plan in place, rules of “intestacy” (i.e. the state’s order of priority for distributing your money) will apply. Even if you don’t have significant assets to your name, creating an estate plan can help you ensure that your money goes exactly where you want it to go when you pass.
Tip 2: Plan for Potential Incapacity
Life is full of the unexpected, and we recommend that you include a provision in your estate plan to cover what will happen if you become incapacitated. For example, do you name a power of attorney? Does your power of attorney cover medical decisions, financial decisions, or both? By naming a trusted person that can take over for you if needed, you can be prepared for whatever lies ahead.
Tip 3: Talk to Your Beneficiaries
We recommend that you have open conversations with your intended beneficiaries as you create and re-draft your plan. Do they understand the goals of your estate plan? Are they prepared to help make sure the plan gets implemented? Is there any area of conflict you need to address? By communicating early and often with your loved ones, you can make sure probate is as smooth as possible in the future.
Tip 4: Consider Alternatives to the Will
In Texas, a will goes through probate, but it is possible to avoid probate altogether. You can, for example, open “payable on death” accounts or establish a trust that protects your estate from the probate courts. By talking through these options with a Houston estate planning attorney, you can figure out if there are ways to make the execution of your estate plan easier for your loved ones down the road.
Tip 5: Hire a Trusted Attorney
By retaining an experienced Houston estate planning attorney, you can make sure that your estate plan is in good hands. At McCulloch & Miller, we have decades of experience in the field and are well-regarded by our peers in the industry. At the end of the day, it’s important to work with someone you can trust, and our Houston estate planning attorneys are proud to work every day to earn (and keep) our clients’ trust.
Give us a Call at McCulloch & Miller
For a consultation with a Houston estate planning attorney from our firm, give us a call today at 713-903-7879. You can also fill out our online form with your contact information to have an attorney get back in touch with you as soon as possible. We cover estate planning, trust planning, and elder law issues at our firm.