Love your family? Set up a will or trust

Weaver Firm Attorneys help you create a will or trust to provide your loved ones with immediate access to bank accounts, savings accounts, life insurance, auto titles, and the ability to sell a home or other property if something happens to you. 

We include documents to carry out your wishes for medical care and other important decisions, if you should become unable to make these decisions.  

In addition, we advise you on the tax consequences of your will or trust. This helps you make decisions to provide for your wife or husband, as well as, consider inheritance issues for children and other loved ones.    

Call 817-638-2022 today to schedule a lawyer consultation by phone, zoom, or in person with Travis Weaver, attorney, for your questions on wills or probate. 

 A will is a document that controls the passage of your property upon your death. In Texas, there are two basic types of wills – (1) the attested or formal will, which is in writing and is witnessed (by two or more witnesses and signed by a notary) and (2) the holographic will, which is wholly in the testator’s handwriting (or typing) and signed by the testator. Generally, the most effective wills are the attested or formal wills. Self-proved wills also make the probate process less stressful on family members. 

Generally speaking, most people benefit from having a will. Having a valid will in place at your death can help make the administration and distribution of your estate easier for those who are left behind. Most of us are concerned (at least to some degree) about what happens to our property at our death and in whose hands our property ultimately falls. While a single will for two married people is an option, we recommend each of our clients have a will for his or her assets even if the wills are mirror images of each other.

You do not know what your financial condition will be at your death or what property you will own at your death. Also, your family situation may make having a will crucial to your loved ones. For example, if you are married with a minor child, having a will can make all the difference for your survivors, even if you have few assets. On the other hand, if you have little property, are unmarried, with no children, with both parents alive, and you want all of your property to pass to your parents, you may not need a will. Your estate may file a lawsuit on behalf of your estate due to a wrongful death claim. These are just examples. We always recommend clients have a valid will in place.

 There are many estate planning products on the market today that represent to consumers that legal documents such as a will may be prepared on a home computer without the help of an attorney. In some cases, these products may work. However, many of these products are not state specific, and therefore, do not meet the specific requirements for the state in which the testator resides and, ultimately, where the will is offered for probate. (Even though the form may be "valid in all 50 states," it could fail to include provisions required by Texas law for low-cost, efficient administration of your estate.) The best way to go about doing a will is to contact an attorney in your area to assist you. Prior to meeting with an estate planning attorney, you should think about how you would like to leave your property at your death, and who you would like to designate to handle your estate after your death. 

We offer package pricing for wills. This works for most cases, however, the complexity (or lack thereof) of each individual’s situation will determine the amount of time that is necessary to prepare the will. Many estate planning attorneys bill hourly for their services while others may work on a flat-fee basis. When you hire an attorney to assist you in preparing a will, make sure that you fully understand the fee structure and that you are comfortable with the fee arrangement. If you have questions regarding the fee or the fee arrangement, we offer a free 30 minute phone meeting with Travis Weaver, attorney. Give us a call at 817-638-2022 and we'll schedule your phone meeting.

If you are concerned about making sure that some of your property goes to your children from a previous relationship in this situation, you can take certain steps in a will to help accomplish your goals. For example, you could make a gift of a certain amount of cash or a certain percentage of your estate to your children, outright or in trust at your death. You could also leave property in trust for the benefit of your spouse with what is left of the trust (the remainder of the trust) passing to your children at your spouse’s death. These are just two examples of steps you can take in this situation. However, this is very personal and the appropriate provisions to include in your will depend on your family dynamics and your estate planning objectives.

 If you don’t probate a will, you may have problems proving you own inherited property and you may be denied access to cash in bank accounts and more. At Weaver Firm Attorneys, we walk you through the process of probating a will—providing you and your family with legal rights to own or sell real estate such as an inherited home, land, automobile, or business. This process also transfers cash, stocks, and other assets to you or your family as rightful heirs.

A living trust can be used as an alternative to a will. In most cases, these trusts are more expensive and complicated that wills. Texas has relatively simple and inexpensive probate. For these reasons, most Texans can achieve their estate planning goals cheaper and simpler with a will. However, there are times when living trusts are appropriate and a better solution than a will. Learn more about living trusts and ask your attorney to weigh the pros and cons for you.

A living trust is a useful estate planning tool that allows the user to arrange how some or all of their assets will be managed after their passing. A last will and testament may help achieve a similar goal, but a living trust does not need to go through complicated and potentially expensive probate procedures. Learn more about trusts, special needs trusts, and Miller Trusts.

A living trust is a good way of protecting out of state real property. If you place out of state real property in a living trust created in Texas, your family members can avoid probate in the state where the property is located. We always recommend exploring this option when you or your family own property in a state other than Texas.

We get many questions about “death taxes.” We can put your fears to rest as most families are not affected by “death taxes”–also known as estate tax or inheritance tax. Read our article and check out our video to learn more about this area of estate planning.