You know you need an estate plan, but you’re not sure where to start. Maybe you’ve been putting it off because it feels overwhelming, you’re unsure what documents you need, or you’re worried about the cost. Perhaps you have young children and need to name guardians, own property that needs protection, or have concerns about what happens if you become incapacitated. The thought of your family dealing with legal complications during an already difficult time motivates you to take action, but you need guidance from someone who understands Texas law.
Estate planning isn’t just about wills—it’s about protecting your family, preserving your assets, avoiding probate, planning for incapacity, minimizing taxes, and ensuring your wishes are honored. At Strickland Law Firm, we provide comprehensive estate planning services for Houston families, creating customized plans that address your unique circumstances and goals. We don’t offer one-size-fits-all document packages; we design estate plans that provide real protection.
We’ve helped hundreds of Houston families create estate plans that give them peace of mind knowing their loved ones are protected.
Estate planning is the process of arranging for the management and distribution of your assets during your life and after your death. A comprehensive estate plan addresses what happens if you die, what happens if you become incapacitated, how to avoid or minimize probate, how to protect assets, who will care for your minor children, and how to minimize taxes.
Texas has specific laws governing estate planning documents, probate procedures, and property rights. Community property laws impact married couples, homestead protections affect real estate planning, and probate procedures in Harris County influence which strategies make sense.
Effective estate planning requires understanding both your current situation and future goals. Your age, health, family structure, assets, business interests, and concerns all influence what your plan should include.
We’ve guided numerous Houston families through the estate planning process, creating comprehensive plans tailored to each family’s unique needs. When you work with us, we:
You receive personalized estate planning that addresses your specific needs, with clear communication, professional service, and transparent flat-fee pricing so you know costs upfront.
Most comprehensive estate plans include several key documents. A Last Will and Testament directs how your assets will be distributed after death, names guardians for minor children, designates an executor, and addresses specific bequests. Without a will, Texas intestacy laws determine who inherits.
A Medical Power of Attorney designates someone to make healthcare decisions if you cannot. This ensures someone you trust can make medical decisions rather than requiring court intervention.
A durable financial power of attorney allows someone to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated, preventing the need for court-appointed guardianship.
An advance directive specifies your wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment if you’re terminally ill or irreversibly incapacitated.
For many families, a revocable living trust provides additional benefits including probate avoidance, incapacity management, privacy, and control over how beneficiaries receive inheritances. Trusts are particularly valuable for homeowners, parents of minor children, individuals with significant assets, and those with complex family situations.
If you have minor children, estate planning is essential — not optional. With the right documents, you can:
Without a plan, guardianship decisions shift to the courts, which can create conflict and uncertainty during emotionally difficult times.
Estate planning needs vary by life stage. Young families with minor children need to name guardians, ensure life insurance proceeds are properly managed, and plan for scenarios where both parents die or become incapacitated. A Last Will and Testament naming guardians is essential, and trusts can provide management for assets until children reach appropriate ages.
Middle-aged adults often focus on wealth preservation, business succession planning, protecting assets from creditors, planning for elderly parents, and ensuring retirement security. This may involve sophisticated planning including irrevocable trusts and business entity planning.
Seniors typically prioritize avoiding probate, planning for long-term care and Medicaid eligibility, protecting their home through Lady Bird Deed or trust-based planning, and ensuring smooth asset transition to beneficiaries.
Regardless of age, if you own real estate, have children, have significant assets, own a business, have a blended family, or want control over who inherits, you need an estate plan tailored to your circumstances.
Revocable living trusts provide numerous benefits. By transferring assets to a trust during your lifetime, you avoid probate at death. You serve as trustee during your life, maintaining complete control, and name a successor trustee to manage the trust if you become incapacitated or after you die.
Trusts provide privacy, allow you to control how and when beneficiaries receive inheritances, and provide seamless management if you become incapacitated. For homeowners, transferring property to a trust through proper Deeds preparation accomplishes probate avoidance while maintaining homestead protections.
Blended families face unique challenges. You want to provide for your current spouse while ensuring your children from a previous relationship receive their inheritance. Standard documents may not accomplish these competing goals without careful structuring.
Trusts are often essential for blended families, allowing you to provide for your spouse during their lifetime while ensuring remaining assets ultimately go to your children. Pourover Will provisions can work with trusts to ensure assets flow into the trust after death.
Many families want to avoid probate—the court-supervised process that typically takes six months to over a year in Harris County. Strategies include revocable living trusts, Transfer on Death Deed or Lady Bird Deed for real estate, beneficiary designations on accounts, and joint ownership with survivorship rights.
However, not all probate is avoidable or should be avoided. We help you understand which assets will go through probate and whether probate avoidance planning is worth the cost for your situation.
If you own a business, estate planning must address what happens when you die or become incapacitated. Without proper planning, your business could be frozen, forced into unwanted partnerships, or face unnecessary tax consequences.
Business succession planning involves determining who will own and run the business, how ownership will transfer, and how to fund the transition. This may involve buy-sell agreements, trusts holding business interests, and gifting strategies. We coordinate with your accountants and financial advisors to create succession plans.
We understand that estate planning involves making difficult decisions about mortality, family relationships, and assets you’ve worked hard to accumulate. You may feel overwhelmed by options or unsure what’s appropriate for your situation. You need an attorney who listens, explains options clearly, and creates a plan that provides real protection.
At Strickland Law Firm, we provide personalized estate planning services focused on your unique needs. We explain recommendations in plain English and create documents you understand. With transparent flat-fee pricing, you know costs upfront.
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Estate planning costs vary significantly based on the complexity of your situation and which documents you need. Simple will-based plans for individuals or couples with straightforward estates typically cost less than comprehensive trust-based plans for families with significant assets, minor children, or complex situations. At Strickland Law Firm, we provide transparent flat-fee pricing rather than hourly billing, so you know the total cost upfront before we begin work. During your free consultation, we’ll discuss your specific situation, recommend appropriate documents and strategies, and provide clear pricing information. Factors affecting cost include whether you need a will or trust (trusts involve more work and cost more), how many beneficiaries and contingencies need to be addressed, whether you own business interests requiring succession planning, whether you have minor children or special needs beneficiaries, and whether you need specialized trusts or strategies. Most families find estate planning is affordable when weighed against the cost and stress their family would face without proper planning. We also discuss payment plans when needed.
A Last Will and Testament is a legal document that directs how your assets will be distributed after your death, names guardians for minor children, and designates an executor to handle your estate. Wills go through probate—a court-supervised process that typically takes six months to a year in Harris County, involves filing fees and legal costs, and becomes part of public record. Wills only take effect after death and don’t help if you become incapacitated during your lifetime. A revocable living trust is a legal entity that holds your assets during your lifetime and after your death. You maintain complete control as trustee while alive, name a successor trustee to manage the trust if you become incapacitated or die, and avoid probate entirely since trust assets pass directly to beneficiaries without court involvement. Trusts provide privacy, allow you to control how and when beneficiaries receive inheritances, and offer management if you become incapacitated. However, trusts require more upfront work and cost to create and fund. Many comprehensive estate plans include both—a trust for major assets like your home and financial accounts, plus a Pourover Will to catch any assets not transferred to the trust during your lifetime.
Yes, estate planning is important regardless of asset value. While protecting wealth is one aspect of estate planning, it also addresses critical non-financial issues that affect all families. If you have minor children, you need to name guardians—without this, a court decides who raises your children if something happens to you. If you own a home or any real estate, you need a plan to transfer it without probate complications. If you want any say in who inherits your possessions, you need a will—otherwise Texas intestacy laws determine distribution, which may not match your wishes. Even people with modest estates need medical powers of attorney and advance directives to ensure someone can make healthcare decisions if they’re incapacitated and to specify end-of-life care wishes. Financial powers of attorney prevent the need for guardianship proceedings if you cannot manage your own affairs. Estate planning is about more than money—it’s about protecting your family, ensuring your wishes are honored, and preventing your loved ones from facing unnecessary legal complications during already difficult times. The cost of creating an estate plan is minimal compared to the expense and stress your family faces without one.
You should review your estate plan every three to five years to ensure it still reflects your wishes and circumstances, and update it whenever significant life changes occur. Major events that require estate plan updates include birth or adoption of children or grandchildren, death of a beneficiary or person named in your documents, divorce or marriage, significant changes in asset values or types, moving to a different state, changes in relationships with named beneficiaries, selling or acquiring a business, and changes in tax laws that affect estate planning. Additionally, if you created your estate plan many years ago, Texas laws may have changed, making updates advisable even if your circumstances haven’t changed. Documents created decades ago may not reflect current legal requirements or best practices. At Strickland Law Firm, we encourage clients to schedule periodic reviews to ensure their plans remain current and effective. Many estate planning problems arise not from poorly drafted original documents but from failure to update documents as life circumstances change. We provide guidance on when updates are necessary and help you maintain an estate plan that continues to protect your family appropriately.
If you die without a will in Texas (called dying “intestate”), state law determines who inherits your assets according to intestacy statutes. The distribution depends on your family situation at death. If you’re married with children who are all children of you and your spouse, your spouse may inherit your community property and a portion of separate property, with children inheriting the remainder. If you have children from a previous relationship, distribution becomes more complex with your spouse and children sharing interests in various assets. If you’re unmarried with children, your children inherit everything equally. If you have no children, assets may go to parents, siblings, or more distant relatives according to statutory priority. Intestacy creates several problems: you have no say in who inherits or how much they receive, you cannot name guardians for minor children (the court decides), you cannot nominate an executor (the court appoints an administrator), you cannot make specific bequests of sentimental items, you cannot disinherit anyone, and you cannot create trusts for minors or beneficiaries who need management. The probate process is also more complex and expensive without a will. Creating a will ensures your wishes control rather than default state laws.
Don’t leave your family’s future to chance. Whether you need a complete estate plan or want to update existing documents, professional guidance ensures your plan works when your family needs it most.
Call Strickland Law Firm today to discuss your estate planning needs and protect your family's future.
