Common Components of an Estate Plan
Our Waco estate planning attorneys assess your assets, listen to your goals, and advise you on which options make the most sense for your circumstances.
Some common components of estate plans are:
- Will: A will is the most well-known estate planning tool available, and it can accomplish a wide variety of goals. At a minimum, a last will and testament allows you to designate beneficiaries and nominate an executor or guardians for minor children. It doesn’t control assets that transfer through beneficiary designations, joint ownership, or other transfer mechanisms.
- Directive to Physicians: Texas’s statutory advance directive is formally called a Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 166.033). Many people know it as a living will. It lets you set out now what life-sustaining treatment you would and would not want if you became unable to speak for yourself. A financial power of attorney addresses a different concern: who may handle financial matters if you cannot do so.
- Trusts: A trust can hold all or some of your assets and direct how they are managed or distributed. Trusts serve different purposes depending on their terms and the assets involved. There are numerous types of trusts, including charitable trusts and special needs trusts, which can address different planning goals.
- Guardianships: Guardianship planning can allow you to nominate someone to care for your children or a vulnerable adult should you pass away unexpectedly. A court makes guardianship decisions when one is needed.
- Transfer-on-death deed: With a transfer-on-death deed, you can designate a beneficiary for qualifying Texas real property, such as a home. The deed must meet statutory requirements, including being recorded before your death in the county where the property is located.
Choosing the Right Estate Planning Attorney in Waco
Selecting the right lawyer to help with your estate plan is just as important as deciding what goes into the plan itself. You want someone who takes the time to understand your family, your assets, and your concerns, rather than offering one-size-fits-all documents. A lawyer familiar with Texas probate and estate laws can help you consider how the available planning tools fit your circumstances.
An estate planning attorney should be willing to explain the pros and cons of different tools in plain language, answer your questions about the planning process, and identify coordination issues involving property ownership and beneficiary designations. As you compare attorneys, it can be helpful to ask how they approach estates similar in size or complexity to yours and how they recommend reviewing documents after significant life changes.
At Milam & Fanning, PLLC, we encourage you to treat your first meeting as a chance to gauge whether our communication style and approach to planning are a good fit for you. We can walk you through what to bring to your appointment, such as basic information about your property, existing documents, and intended beneficiaries, and can outline a clear next step.
How an Estate Planning Attorney Can Help Prevent Common Errors
An estate plan can become outdated after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a change in property, finances, or intended beneficiaries. Incomplete asset information, unaddressed debts, unclear end-of-life instructions, and poor communication with beneficiaries can also undermine your wishes.
Relying solely on a do-it-yourself approach without legal advice can result in improperly executed or incomplete documents. Execution requirements vary by document, so an online form isn’t necessarily valid or complete merely because it has been signed.
How We Help Prevent Planning Errors
An estate planning attorney can help prevent errors in several important ways:
- Reviewing your entire financial picture: We look at assets, debts, ownership arrangements, and beneficiary designations together so your plan is coordinated rather than pieced together.
- Recommending appropriate planning tools: We discuss wills, trusts, powers of attorney, medical directives, and other documents that fit your goals instead of relying on generic forms.
- Helping with proper execution of documents: We can help you with signing, witnessing, and notarizing documents when required.
- Coordinating beneficiary designations: We help you align life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death designations with the rest of your estate plan.
- Advising on updates over time: We help you identify when life changes may call for an estate plan review.
We can also help you communicate your wishes clearly to your family and beneficiaries.
Understanding the Importance of Regular Estate Plan Reviews
Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or changes in financial circumstances can affect your estate plan. Periodic reviews help you determine whether your plan remains aligned with your current situation and wishes.
Here are some key reasons to schedule periodic reviews of your estate plan:
- Adapt to life changes: Major life events can necessitate updates to your beneficiaries, executors, or asset distribution.
- Consider changes in the law: Changes in estate law may affect documents created under earlier rules.
- Review beneficiary designations: Beneficiary designations and ownership records may affect how assets transfer independently of a will.
- Avoid family disputes: Keeping your estate plan current can help prevent misunderstandings and conflicts among family members.
- Ensure your wishes are honored: A timely review helps ensure your current wishes are reflected accurately in your documents.
At Milam & Fanning, PLLC, we help clients review existing estate-planning documents and consider whether family, business, or property changes require updates. During a consultation, you can ask questions, discuss whether current Texas law may affect your plan, and consider new planning tools or beneficiary designations while everything is calm rather than during a crisis.
Estate Planning for Waco & McLennan County Clients
During a consultation, our Waco estate planning lawyers provide personalized guidance about which tools may fit your goals, family, property, and existing documents.
We can walk through real-world scenarios that might affect your family and explain how each option would address those circumstances. Whether your planning involves Waco, another McLennan County community, or property elsewhere in Central Texas, we can help you understand your options.
For Waco and McLennan County residents, planning may involve Texas property, county-recorded documents, or questions about a future probate matter connected to the McLennan County Probate Court. We provide general guidance about how those considerations may fit into your planning decisions and discuss your individual circumstances during a consultation.
To discuss creating, updating, or coordinating your estate plan, reach out to our Waco estate planning attorneys or call (254) 237-5602. We serve clients in McLennan County and the surrounding areas.
