If you live in the Katy, Texas area and Harris or Fort Bend County, TX, and you are asking this question the answer is probably, YES!
As a Katy, Texas divorce attorney, Texas family lawyer, and Fort Bend and Harris County, TX estate planning attorney practicing in the Katy, TX area and Harris and Fort Bend County, Texas area, I prepare a lot of Wills, and handle quite a few probate matters. The Katy, Texas area, and Harris and Fort Bend County, TX, and surrounding area is densely populated, and it is this density of population
that makes it even more important for my clients to have their affairs in order. The first thing I ask almost all of my clients is whether they have a Last Will and Testament and/or whether their Will is up-to-date.
A Last Will and Testament (hereinafter “Will“) is a document that tells everyone how, upon your death, you want your assets distributed and to whom. If you don’t have a Will the State of Texas has one for you, and you are probably not going to like it. If you want control over how your assets are distributed you must have a Will. Whether you live in Katy, Texas, Fort Bend County, TX, Harris County, Texas, or any other county in Texas, if you have a Will prepared in Texas the probate laws of Texas should apply equally to your Will when it is submitted to the appropriate Probate Court.
For a Last Will and Testament to be valid it must be executed with the formality required by Texas Law. In many cases Texas Law provides for Independent Administration of Wills during probate, which is a cost effective and efficient method of probating a Will. In order to take advantage of this method of probate you must have the proper language in your Last Will and Testament. To be sure you have the proper provisions in the Will you should hire a local Katy, Texas and Harris or Fort Bend County, TX estate planning Attorney experienced in preparing Wills.
In Fort Bend and Harris County, Texas A Will Can Do More Than Distribute Your Estate Assets Upon Your Death
Trust Provisions
Your Will can include trust provisions that limit when your beneficiaries will receive their share of the assets (i.e. upon reaching a certain age). Why is this beneficial? Ask yourself, when you were eighteen (18) years old how responsible would you have been with $10,000.00 or $100,000.00 or $1,000,000.00?
In my experience as a Texas Family Lawyer and Probate Attorney I have witnessed this scenario, and the results are almost always tragic. One of the first lines of defense in protecting your kids from their own financial immaturity and real world predators is to include a Trust in your Will.
In preparing your Last Will and Testament you will be asked to name or appoint certain individuals to serve as trustee for your beneficiaries until the trust terminates. The benefit of such a trust provision is that the trustee can distribute portions of the trust proceeds, as needed, to the beneficiary for his/her benefit (i.e. tuition, living expenses, etc..) until the beneficiary meets the trust termination requirements. The trustee protects the funds, and the beneficiary still receives the benefit of the funds until the trust terminates. Again, this is just an overview of the benefits of a trust. You need to consult an Attorney qualified in drafting Wills and Trusts so that the Trust in your Will is prepared in accordance with your particular facts and circumstances, and in accordance with Texas Law.
Guardianship Provisions
In addition to trust provisions, your Will can include Guardianship provisions for your children who are under eighteen (18) years of age. You should know that guardianship provisions are subject to the rights of other individuals who have a superior right to guardianship (i.e. a biological mother or father) regardless of where they live (i.e. Katy, Texas, Fort Bend County, TX, Harris County, Texas, or surrounding counties etc…) Guardianship provisions can be critical to the well-being of your children, and they provide clear instruction on who you want your children to be raised by when you pass away.
In conclusion, if you live in the Katy, Texas area and Harris or Fort Bend County, TX then YES! you need a Last Will and Testament. And, if you have children and/or a spouse and/or own real property you need it IMMEDIATELY! The financial and emotional consequences of not having a Last Will and Testament when you pass away are substantial. It is better to spend several hundred dollars now on a well prepared Will, and avoid having your loved ones spend thousands of dollars later, in probate, because you did not have a Will. Besides, a Last Will and Testament does more than just distribute your assets on death. It can serve to protect the financial future of your beneficiaries through Trust Provisions, and their personal and emotional well-being through Guardianship provisions.
Protect your financial future and the future of your loved ones now, and contact the Law Office of Daniel E. McCarty, Jr. at (832) 674-6800 to schedule an appointment with a local Katy, TX area Estate Planning Attorney to have your Texas Last Will and Testament drafted for your specific needs. Mr. McCarty is an experienced lawyer you can trust with over two decades of experience drafting estate planning documents for his clients in the Katy, Texas area, and in Harris and Fort Bend County, TX.
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