The work behind a good plan.
Every estate plan does two jobs. The first is to direct the distribution of assets after death. The second — often more important in practice — is to provide a framework for the years before death when the plan's author can no longer speak for themselves. A good plan anticipates the quieter moments: the medical crisis, the business decision that must be made while someone is hospitalized, the bank that wants to see documents before honoring a request.
This practice approaches estate planning as architecture, not paperwork. The documents matter, but the durable work is in the structure they create: who acts, under what authority, with what limits, in what sequence. Done carefully, an estate plan reduces friction at the moments when friction is most costly. Done carelessly, it creates disputes at the moments families can least afford them.
What this practice covers.
Wills
Simple wills for uncomplicated estates; complex wills with trust provisions for estates involving minor children, significant assets, or family circumstances that benefit from ongoing trustee oversight. Every will drafted here addresses Texas-specific considerations — independent administration, self-proving affidavits, and the relationship to community property rules — that generic form wills routinely miss.
Revocable living trusts
A revocable trust used appropriately can avoid probate, provide incapacity management, and structure distributions in ways a will cannot. Used inappropriately — sold to taxpayers who do not need them, as they often are — they add expense and complexity without benefit. The right question for any client considering a trust is not "should I have a trust" but "what problem am I solving that a will cannot."
Irrevocable trusts
Irrevocable trusts have narrow appropriate uses: asset protection for specific professions with genuine exposure, estate tax planning at the federal exemption threshold, special needs provisions for beneficiaries who must not receive assets outright, and charitable structures. This practice does not recommend irrevocable trusts reflexively. When one is appropriate, it is drafted with careful attention to grantor-trust rules, trustee permissions, and the tax consequences of funding decisions.
Powers of attorney
A durable financial power of attorney permits a designated agent to act on financial matters when the principal cannot. A medical power of attorney designates who makes healthcare decisions when the principal is incapacitated. Both are drafted with attention to Texas statutory requirements and to the specific institutions — banks, brokerages, healthcare systems — that must honor them.
Advance directives and HIPAA authorizations
Directive to Physicians (living will), HIPAA authorization permitting designated family members to receive medical information, and out-of-hospital do-not-resuscitate orders when appropriate. These are small documents that matter enormously in the moments they are used.
Probate and estate administration
Texas offers several probate procedures, from independent administration (the most streamlined) to formal court supervision (the most protective). The right procedure depends on the size of the estate, whether there is a will, whether the will designates independent administration, and whether disputes are likely. Representation here covers the full arc: petition for probate, appointment as executor or administrator, inventory and appraisement, creditor claims, distribution, and final accounting.
Business succession planning
For clients who own a business, estate planning and entity planning are inseparable. A will that directs "my interest in the business" to a spouse does not survive contact with a buy-sell agreement that restricts transfer to outsiders. Business succession work requires coordination between the estate documents and the operating documents — work this firm does in one engagement rather than refer out.