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 will names an executor and tells the probate court how to distribute property. It is the baseline of any estate plan — but every asset titled in your name at death still passes through probate, which is public, takes months, and costs money. A revocable living trust avoids probate entirely for any asset properly funded into it, provides immediate incapacity management through a successor trustee, and keeps the distribution out of the public record. It does not protect assets from creditors during your lifetime, and it does not typically produce income or estate tax savings. A trust that is signed but never funded is a document that does nothing — funding is the work that makes the tool real.
Lady Bird deeds and Transfer-on-Death deeds
For Texans whose largest asset is the family home, two real-estate-specific tools pass the property to named beneficiaries at death without probate. A life estate is a form of ownership where you own and live in the property during your lifetime, with ownership automatically passing to named beneficiaries on your death. A Lady Bird deed is the enhanced version — you keep the right to sell, mortgage, or revoke the deed entirely during your lifetime, without the beneficiaries' consent. A Transfer-on-Death Deed is the Texas statutory equivalent (Estates Code §§ 114.001–114.107). Either tool keeps the homestead out of probate. For a single-property estate where the goal is simply to pass the family home to one or more children, one of these two deeds is often the entire plan that is needed.
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.