In life, there are a lot of what ifs.
What if one spouse passes away before the other? What if you become disabled and can’t speak for yourself? What if you have a special needs child that needs to be considered?
Don’t worry—at Stafford Law Firm, we’re here to help you plan for the unexpected and take the guessing game out of your family’s future. We’ll ensure your family reaps all the benefits of your hard work and sacrifice without worrying about any of the details.
Solidify your family’s future today—reach out to a Spring Branch estate planning attorney.
Situated in Northwest Houston, Spring Branch is home to just over 132,000 Texans. And like most Southeast Texas cities, it’s a great place to raise a family. As of 2021, the average household income for the city was roughly $102,022, homes in the area went for around $258,300, and over 49% of homes were owner-occupied.
If you’re researching estate planning in Spring Branch, it most likely means you have assets and a family to consider. And when your family’s future is at stake, don’t just hire anyone—hire Spring Branch estate planning attorneys who know what they’re doing.
Estate planning is an ongoing process that sets your family up for success when you’re no longer around. It’s as unique as you are and can include various tools. Because of that, our team offers comprehensive estate planning services so you can hand-select the tools that make sense for your family.
Here are just a few ways we can help you.
Wills are a great starting point for your estate plans. In your will, you can designate guardians for minor children, select beneficiaries for your assets, and even dictate your wishes for burial arrangements.
Keep in mind, however, that wills do not provide asset protection, which means they’ll usually need to be used in conjunction with other estate planning tools to cover all the bases.
Trusts are fiduciary arrangements that allow a third party (trustee) to hold assets on behalf of a beneficiary. When you set up a trust, the trust becomes the owner of those assets and the trustee, the manager, until you pass away or become incapacitated.
Creating a trust allows you to protect those assets from probate and have more autonomy over how and when they’re distributed.
Probate is the process of rounding up your final affairs in court. This includes collecting, managing, and distributing your estate. It can be costly and time-consuming, dragging your loved ones back and forth to court to determine what should happen with your estate.
With proper planning, it can be avoided. However, when necessary, surviving loved ones can count on experienced probate attorneys to walk them through the process.
Part of estate planning is planning for the unexpected, like if you become badly injured or sick. In situations like these, your loved ones and doctors will need guidance on what healthcare treatments you want, what life-saving measures you would or wouldn’t prefer, and other decisions.
These aren’t decisions you want your family to have to second-guess about. And when you can’t speak for yourself, healthcare directives allow you to outline your wishes beforehand.
Power of attorney documents allows a third party (agent) to act on your behalf in your absence. If you were temporarily disabled, incapacitated, or taking an extended trip, these documents allow that third party to step in and make important legal, financial, or healthcare decisions for you.
Without these documents, the court could decide who should make these decisions, and depending on the circumstances, end up stripping you of your rights altogether.
Our other legal services include:
We all have people or things we care about—a spouse, a child, a charity. Things that if anything ever happened to us, we’d at least want to know they’re taken care of.
Why not take the next step, make it official, and ensure they’re taken care of no matter what? Start your estate plans today—call our Spring Branch estate planning attorneys at Stafford Law Firm or drop by our office at 9601 Katy Fwy Suite 470, Houston, TX 77024.
We are here to protect you, your family, and your business. Schedule a free consultation to discuss the best way to protect your future.
Local laws determine who inherits your assets when you die without an estate plan. You could also be opening your estate up to litigation, as family members fight over what they believe you would have wanted.
You can certainly draft legal documents on your own or even use online estate planning tools to help you—but it’s not advisable. That’s because, without the help of experienced estate planners, these generic, “cookie-cutter” estate planning documents are just pieces of paper that may or may not function the way you intended.
The goal of estate planning isn’t just to have a stack of documents; it’s to have a living, breathing estate plan that meets your goals for asset protection, generational wealth, saving on taxes, or, at minimum, carrying out your wishes—a TX estate planning attorney does precisely that and much more.
What’s great about estate planning is it’s tailored to your family and financial dynamic. Therefore the costs of estate planning will depend on the amount and type of assets you have and the kinds of tools and services that would be most beneficial to you.
No. Trusts are not just for the wealthy. They’re for anyone with assets who would like to see those assets transferred to their loved ones quickly and efficiently. Trusts can provide tax advantages and save you and your surviving loved ones money over time.
Working with a qualified estate planning attorney is the best way to keep your plans up to date. Major life changes like a new baby, buying a home, or getting married can mean you need to move some things around in your estate plan. Experienced estate planning lawyers can ensure your legal documents are kept up to date.
