Frequently Asked Questions

Most people benefit from both. A will names guardians for minor children, directs how assets should be distributed, and names an executor — but assets that pass under a will go through probate. A revocable living trust allows assets to pass to your beneficiaries outside of probate, maintaining privacy and avoiding court costs. Whether you need one or both depends on the nature and value of your assets, your family situation, and your goals. We help you identify the right combination.

Estate plans should be reviewed every three to five years, and updated after major life events: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child or grandchild, a significant change in your financial situation, the death of a named beneficiary or executor, or a move to a new state. Laws also change — updates to Texas statutes or federal tax law may affect your plan.

If you die without a will (called dying 'intestate'), Texas law determines how your assets are distributed. The result may not reflect your wishes — and the process still goes through probate. Without a will, you also cannot name a guardian for minor children, which leaves that critical decision to a court.

A durable power of attorney authorizes a person you designate (your 'agent') to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. Without one, your family may need a court-supervised guardianship proceeding — which is expensive, time-consuming, and public. A separate medical power of attorney covers healthcare decisions.

An advance directive (also called a living will) tells your healthcare providers and family what life-sustaining treatment you want — or don't want — if you are unable to communicate. Texas law provides specific forms for this, and having one in place prevents family members from having to make impossibly difficult decisions under stress.

A revocable living trust is a legal arrangement where you transfer your assets into a trust during your lifetime. You remain in full control as the trustee and can change or revoke the trust at any time. When you die, the assets in the trust pass directly to your beneficiaries — without probate. It also provides for management of your assets if you become incapacitated.

An irrevocable trust cannot be changed or revoked once created (with limited exceptions). Because you give up control of the assets, they are generally protected from creditors and may be excluded from your taxable estate. Irrevocable trusts are used for asset protection, estate tax planning, Medicaid planning, and charitable giving strategies.

Yes — assets held in a properly funded trust pass to your beneficiaries outside of probate. However, a trust only controls assets that have been transferred into it ('funded'). Assets not in the trust at your death may still go through probate, which is why proper funding is as important as creating the trust itself.

Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a will, appointing an executor, inventorying assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to the heirs. Texas probate is generally simpler and less expensive than in many other states, but it is still a public process that takes time and involves court costs and attorney fees.

A straightforward Texas probate typically takes 6–12 months. More complex estates — those with disputed wills, creditor claims, real estate in multiple states, or tax issues — can take longer. An independent administration (the most common form in Texas) allows the executor to act without court approval for most actions, which significantly speeds up the process.

No. Assets with named beneficiaries (life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s) pass directly to those beneficiaries outside of probate. Assets held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship also pass automatically. Assets held in a trust bypass probate entirely. Only assets titled solely in the decedent's name without a designated beneficiary typically need to go through probate.

Yes, but the window is narrow. A will admitted to probate may generally be contested within two years of the admission date (Tex. Est. Code § 256.204). To have standing you must be an 'interested person' — typically an heir, a devisee under a prior will, a spouse, a creditor, or someone with a property right in the estate (Tex. Est. Code § 22.018). Recognized grounds include lack of testamentary capacity (the testator did not understand they were signing a will, what it contained, or the natural objects of their bounty), undue influence, fraud, forgery, and improper execution. A will contest is a formal adversarial proceeding in the probate court — the outcome depends on documentary evidence, depositions, and often medical records from the period surrounding the signing.

Undue influence occurs when someone substitutes their own will for the testator's by overpowering the testator's free agency. Under Texas common law, three elements must be proved: an influence existed and was exerted; it overpowered the testator's mind at the very moment the will was executed; and it produced a will the testator would not have made but for that influence. Courts look at the totality of the circumstances, not a single fact. Common patterns include sudden isolation from family in the months before a will change; growing physical or financial dependence on a new beneficiary; secrecy surrounding the lawyer and the signing; and a late-life revision that reverses long-standing estate plans in favor of the influencer. Because memory, witnesses, and records fade, the sooner an investigation begins the stronger the case.

Texas law provides specific grounds for court-ordered removal of an executor (Tex. Est. Code § 361.051), including: failure to return an inventory within 90 days of qualification (§ 309.051); failure to render an accounting after a proper demand — executors have 60 days after demand to comply (§ 404.001); misapplication of estate assets or a credible threat of misapplication; and gross misconduct or incapacity. An independent executor can also be removed under § 404.003 on a showing of disregard for the interests of the estate. For trustees, removal grounds are governed by Tex. Prop. Code § 113.082 and include a serious breach of trust, unfitness to administer, or failure to cooperate with co-trustees. Removal proceedings are filed in the probate court where the estate is pending; a formal demand letter backed by a removal petition often produces compliance without a full hearing.

Executors, administrators, and trustees owe the highest duty the law imposes — a fiduciary duty — to the estate's beneficiaries. That duty includes loyalty (placing the estate's interest before their own), prudent management of assets (Tex. Prop. Code § 117.004 sets the prudent investor standard for trustees), impartiality among beneficiaries, full accounting transparency, and timely distribution. Common breaches include self-dealing (selling estate property to a related party below market value), hiding or misappropriating assets, paying excessive or unauthorized fees, investing estate funds improperly, and delaying distribution without justification. A successful claim can produce removal of the fiduciary, a surcharge equal to the harm caused, or both. The claimant must show a duty, a breach, and resulting loss — financial records and transaction histories are the core evidence.

Medicare provides limited coverage for skilled nursing facility care following a qualifying hospital stay — generally up to 100 days. It does not cover long-term custodial care (help with daily activities like bathing, dressing, and eating). Medicaid is the primary government program that covers long-term nursing home care for those who qualify.

Medicaid eligibility for long-term care requires an individual to have limited countable assets — generally $2,000 or less in Texas. Certain assets are 'non-countable,' including the primary residence (subject to equity limits), one vehicle, personal belongings, and a prepaid irrevocable funeral plan. Medicaid planning involves legally converting countable assets into non-countable ones.

A Lady Bird Deed (Enhanced Life Estate Deed) is a powerful Texas real estate planning tool. It allows you to retain full ownership and control of your home during your lifetime — including the right to sell, mortgage, or change the deed — while directing the property to pass to your named beneficiaries at your death, outside of probate and generally outside of Medicaid estate recovery.

Medicaid examines asset transfers made within the five years (60 months) prior to the application for long-term care benefits. Transfers made during this period for less than fair market value can result in a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for nursing home care. Proper planning — ideally done years before care is needed — is essential.

A Transfer on Death (TOD) Deed allows Texas homeowners to name a beneficiary who will automatically receive the property at the owner's death — without probate, and without giving up any control during the owner's lifetime. Like a Lady Bird Deed, a TOD Deed can be revoked or changed at any time.

A Texas divorce is uncontested when both spouses agree on all key terms: division of marital property and debts, and — if children are involved — custody, visitation, and child support. Because there is nothing to litigate, an uncontested divorce is significantly faster and less expensive than a contested proceeding, and typically does not require either spouse to appear in court.

Texas requires a mandatory 60-day waiting period from the date the divorce petition is filed before a final decree can be entered (Tex. Fam. Code § 6.702). In practice, most uncontested divorces are completed 60–90 days after filing, assuming all required documents are in order and both parties are cooperative.

Total probate cost is the sum of court filing fees (commonly a few hundred dollars, set by each county), the cost of publishing required notices, and attorney fees, which depend on the type of administration and the complexity of the estate. An independent administration of a straightforward estate with a valid will is the least expensive path; a dependent administration, a will contest, or an estate with many creditors or out-of-state property costs more because it requires more court involvement. Because every estate is different, we quote fees after reviewing the specific situation — and for probate matters we offer a free case review.

A straightforward independent administration typically takes 6–12 months from filing to final distribution. The earliest steps move quickly — Texas courts often hold the initial hearing a few weeks after the application is filed — but creditor-notice periods, asset valuation, and the sale of any real estate extend the timeline. Disputed wills, dependent administrations, and estates with tax issues can take a year or more.

Generally, a will must be admitted to probate within four years of the person's death (Tex. Est. Code § 256.003). After four years, the options narrow significantly — a late application requires showing you were not in default in failing to file sooner, and in many cases the only remaining tool is a muniment of title or a determination of heirship. Filing promptly preserves the most options and the least cost.

A muniment of title is one of the least expensive probate procedures in Texas because it skips the appointment of an executor and the formal administration. When the estate has a valid will, no unpaid debts other than those secured by real estate, and no need for ongoing administration, the court can admit the will as a 'muniment of title' (Tex. Est. Code § 257.001) — a single court order that transfers title. It involves one filing and typically one hearing, so it costs and takes far less than a full administration.

Estate-planning fees depend on what the plan includes. A will-based plan with powers of attorney and healthcare directives costs less than a revocable living trust package, which in turn costs less than planning that involves special needs trusts, business interests, tax-sensitive estates, or Medicaid asset protection. We work from flat fees quoted up front after a consultation, so you know the full cost before any work begins.

A will is the most affordable way to put an estate plan in place, and at WG Law it is billed as a flat fee quoted up front — not by the hour — so you know the cost before any drafting begins. The price depends on how complete the package is: a simple will costs less than a will paired with a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, a HIPAA authorization, and a directive to physicians, which is the combination most Texas families actually need. Free online templates exist, but a will that is improperly signed or witnessed can fail entirely under the Texas Estates Code and force your family into a costly heirship proceeding — so the attorney-drafted flat fee usually costs far less than fixing a defective do-it-yourself will later. Estate planning is led by Taylor Willingham, who has served more than 10,000 estate-planning clients.

Two separate payments come out of a Texas estate. The executor (or administrator) is entitled by statute to a commission of five percent of the cash the executor actually receives and pays out during the administration, capped at five percent of the estate's gross fair market value (Tex. Est. Code § 352.002). That commission is not allowed on cash that was already in the deceased's bank accounts at death, on life-insurance proceeds, or on distributions paid out to heirs and beneficiaries — so on many estates the true commission is modest. Separately, the estate pays the probate attorney's reasonable and necessary fees for handling the proceeding (Tex. Est. Code § 352.051); those fees track the type of administration and the complexity of the estate, and an independent administration of a straightforward estate with a valid will is the least expensive path. WG Law quotes probate fees after reviewing the specific estate, and probate matters qualify for a free case review before you commit.

Long-term nursing home care in Texas commonly runs $6,000 to $8,000 a month or more, and Medicare does not cover custodial long-term care — which is why a single family member's care can drain a lifetime of savings within a few years. Medicaid does pay for long-term care once a person qualifies, and lawful Medicaid planning is about restructuring assets in advance so a spouse and family are not left impoverished. The key constraint is the five-year (60-month) look-back: transfers made for less than fair market value during that window can trigger a penalty period (see the Medicaid & Elder Law answers above), so the earlier planning starts, the more can be protected. Tools include the Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed to shield the homestead from Medicaid estate recovery, qualified income trusts, and spousal-protection strategies. Elder law and Medicaid planning are led by Taylor Willingham, author of five books on estate planning and elder law. Because this is complex, individualized work, we quote a flat fee after a consultation.

Both do different jobs. A will names guardians for minor children, names your executor, and directs how assets are distributed — but assets passing under a will go through probate. A revocable living trust lets assets pass to your beneficiaries outside of probate, keeps the transfer private, and provides for management of your assets if you become incapacitated. Many Texas families use a will for guardianship and a 'pour-over' backstop, plus a funded trust to avoid probate on their major assets. The right combination depends on your assets, your family, and your goals.

Both let a Texas homeowner pass real estate to a beneficiary at death without probate, and both can be changed or revoked during life. The practical differences: a Transfer on Death Deed is a statutory form (Texas Real Property Transfer on Death Act, Tex. Est. Code ch. 114) that is widely recognized and easy to revoke. A Lady Bird Deed (enhanced life estate deed) is a common-law tool that can offer advantages for Medicaid estate-recovery planning. Which one fits depends on whether Medicaid planning is a concern, how your title insurer treats each, and your overall plan — a question worth asking an attorney rather than guessing.

In an independent administration — the most common form in Texas — the executor can inventory assets, pay debts, and distribute the estate with minimal court supervision, which makes it faster and cheaper. A dependent administration requires the executor to get court approval for most actions, including paying claims and selling property. Texas strongly favors independent administration, and a well-drafted will requests it; dependent administration is usually reserved for contested estates or situations where the heirs cannot agree.

A muniment of title applies in a narrow but common situation: there is a valid will, the estate has no unpaid debts other than those secured by real estate, and there is no need for an executor to manage ongoing affairs. In that case the court can transfer title with a single order (Tex. Est. Code § 257.001). Full administration is required when there are debts to settle, assets to manage or sell, a need to collect money owed to the estate, or any dispute. An attorney can tell you which path your estate qualifies for after a brief review.

Leaving assets directly to a child who receives SSI or Medicaid can disqualify them from those means-tested benefits. The standard solution is a special needs trust (also called a supplemental needs trust). A third-party special needs trust — funded with your assets, not the child's — holds the inheritance for the child's benefit without counting as their resource, so it supplements rather than replaces government benefits. An ABLE account (26 U.S.C. § 529A; Texas runs the Texas ABLE program) can hold a limited amount in the person's own name without affecting eligibility. Which tools fit depends on the child's situation and the size of the inheritance.

At 18 a child becomes a legal adult, and a parent no longer has automatic authority over medical, financial, or legal decisions — even for a child with a significant disability. Guardianship (governed by the Texas Estates Code) is one option, but Texas law requires courts to consider less-restrictive alternatives first, such as a Supported Decision-Making Agreement (Tex. Est. Code ch. 1357), powers of attorney, or a representative payee. The right path depends on the young adult's capacity; planning ahead of the 18th birthday avoids a gap in authority.

A small estate affidavit is a streamlined alternative to probate for modest estates. Under Tex. Est. Code ch. 205, it is available when the decedent died without a will, the estate's assets (excluding the homestead and exempt property) are worth $75,000 or less, there is no pending application for an administrator, and the assets exceed the debts. It cannot be used to transfer most real estate other than the homestead. When those conditions are met, it is far faster and cheaper than a full administration.

When a person dies intestate (without a will), Texas may require a determination of heirship (Tex. Est. Code ch. 202) — a court proceeding that formally identifies the legal heirs and their shares under the Texas intestacy statutes. The court typically appoints an attorney ad litem to represent unknown heirs. Heirship is often paired with an independent administration or, for real estate, an affidavit of heirship. It adds time and cost compared with having a will, which is one of the strongest reasons to put a plan in place.

Cryptocurrency has no beneficiary designation and no institution your family can call — if no one has the private keys or seed phrase, the assets are effectively lost forever. A complete plan inventories your digital assets, provides secure (not plaintext-in-the-will) access instructions to your fiduciary, and grants legal authority to access them. Texas has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (Tex. Est. Code ch. 2001), which lets you authorize your executor or trustee to access digital accounts — but the legal authority is useless without a practical key-recovery plan, so the two must work together.

An LLC and an S-corporation are not mutually exclusive — 'S-corp' is a federal tax election, and an LLC can elect to be taxed as one. A Texas LLC gives liability protection with flexible management and pass-through taxation by default. Electing S-corp tax treatment can reduce self-employment tax once the business earns enough to justify a reasonable salary plus distributions, but it adds payroll and compliance requirements. The right choice depends on your income, number of owners, and growth plans — it is a tax and liability question worth running past an attorney and accountant together.

Texas allows a series LLC, which lets a single parent LLC create separate 'series,' each able to hold its own assets and shield them from the liabilities of the other series. Real-estate investors with multiple properties often use it to isolate risk without forming a separate company for each property. It must be set up correctly — with separate records and accounting for each series — for the liability shield to hold, so the operating agreement and ongoing bookkeeping matter.