Houston Will Attorney

Our Houston Will Attorneys Can Help Draft Your Wills and Testaments

will attorney in houstonWills are not just for the very wealthy or people with extensive property or assets.

Regardless of where you are in life, creating a workable estate plan and drafting a Will is an important issue to address at any age.

Especially if you have children, a Will allows you to make your wishes clear about who will raise your children and how your estate will be distributed.

Our experienced Houston Will lawyers can help you with these next steps.

If you are interested in drafting a Will, our estate planning lawyers can be of valuable assistance. Drafting a legally sound Will can be a complex process. There are many benefits to an attorney-drafted Will and many potential pitfalls for those who do it themselves.

What Is a Will?

A Will is a legally binding document in which you declare how your property and estate are to be distributed. However, a Will only works if it is enforceable.

If your Will is improperly drafted or executed, it doesn’t matter how many documents you have explaining how your estate should be distributed; dying with an invalid will is the same as dying with no will at all.

Requirements of a Will

A Will must meet several strict requirements to be enforceable, making the decision to hire a knowledgeable and experienced Houston Will lawyer an important one.

For example, in addition to having a properly drafted and executed Will, the testator—the person executing the Will—must have “testamentary capacity.” In other words, the testator must be legally capable of forming the Will. Hiring a Houston Will attorney can help avoid capacity issues. Attorneys familiar with the law can make sure the testator is capable when they sign their Will.

If the wording is off or if the document is drafted or signed improperly, there is the chance that it may be held to be invalid in probate court.

Texas law considers a Will valid only if it is in writing and signed in the presence of two witnesses. Oral Wills may be valid under very limited circumstances in Texas if they were made before September 1, 2007.

Holographic Will

Holographic (handwritten) wills may also be valid, though like a standard “formal” will they have specific statutory requirements for validity. All these safeguards exist because Wills often involve the distribution of highly valuable assets. Having so many requirements prevents fraud and other wrongdoing.

If you want to take steps to make sure your final wishes are clearly put into place, The Larson Law Office can help. Contact our qualified Houston Will lawyers at (713) 221-9088 to schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss your situation.

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How Can a Houston Will Attorney Help Me?

The Importance of Establishing a Will

If you do not make your wishes clear in a Will, the State of Texas will decide these things for you. Based on very specific laws, without a Will, a court will determine the distribution of your estate. Additionally, without a Will, your wishes on who will raise your children can be ignored and decided by the court instead. The Will lawyers in Houston at The Larson Law Office can help prevent this situation from occurring.

Without an established Will, your heirs may also not receive the assets you would have left to them and other loved ones may be left out entirely. If someone dies without a Will, the court will divide their estate according to Texas’s intestacy laws. These laws provide a default set of rules about how to divide an estate. It is very likely that the intestacy rules will differ significantly from your wishes.

Even with a Will, there can be long delays in the distribution of an estate due to court proceedings deciding how the estate is to be distributed and who the heirs are. Expensive and drawn-out legal battles from not having a Will, or if the Will is not properly executed and drafted by an effective Houston Will lawyer.

Benefits of Having a Will In Texas

The greatest benefit of having a Will is your ability to clearly manage your legacy. A Will provides specific instructions to your executor regarding your estate. Beyond distributing your assets, a Will gives you the opportunity to:

  • Include or exclude certain beneficiaries;
  • Clarify any non-monetary gifts you wish to make and to whom; and
  • Appoint guardians or trustees for your minor children.

Creating a Will that clearly states your wishes for your estate is a very important step in an individual’s estate planning and we provide these services in a cost-effective way.  By working with our Houston Will lawyers, you can help ensure that your Last Will and Testament does exactly what you want it to regarding the inheritance of your assets and property.

Planning Your Estate

In addition to setting up a Will, estate planning can also address health care decisions in case of incapacity, financial powers of attorney, and many other important issues, such as guardianship and custody of your children and other vital matters.

Having powers of attorney and healthcare directives in place is just as important as having a thorough Will. These documents allow you to appoint someone else to make important financial and healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to make those decisions yourself.

Powers of attorney are frequently accompanied by a directive to physicians and a HIPAA waiver. A Houston Will attorney can help you draft and execute these documents along with your Will.

Why Choose The Larson Law Office?

When we formed The Larson Law Office in 2009, we did so because we saw gaps in the Houston legal market. Specifically, we felt there was an unmet need with respect to high-quality personalized representation for Texas families.

From the start, we’ve run our law firm without unnecessary staff or assistants; when you contact The Larson Law Office, you will speak with one of our two experienced attorneys, not a junior attorney or paralegal.

In addition, we have years of experience representing clients in a variety of family law matters, including estate planning. Because we operate our firm ourselves, we’ve been able to reduce the overall cost. For our clients, this means we can offer affordable hourly rates and fees for Texas families and family-owned businesses.

We believe the best way we can serve our clients is by personalizing our representation. Doing so allows us to be more responsive to each client’s specific needs and concerns. Choosing The Larson Law Office will give you access to a highly personal Will attorney in Houston.

Need to Establish a Will? Contact Our Will Attorneys Serving Houston Today

We understand how critically important it is to have a Will that takes care of your family and those you love with as little interference by the State of Texas and probate officials as possible.  We are dedicated to helping families and individuals craft a comprehensive Will that is custom and tailored to the client’s exact wishes for the client’s estate.

For experienced legal help in planning your affairs, call Houston’s Will lawyers at The Larson Law Office today, or give us a call at 713-221-9088 to schedule a free consultation.

Other types of Estate Planning cases we handle include: