A Will is a written legal declaration of a person's intentions which he or she wants or wills to be performed after his or her death. The Will makes dispositions of estate property, sets up trusts, and establishes guardians upon a person's death. Under Texas law a Will must identify the Testator, be written with "testamentary intent", and be executed with requisite testamentary formalities. It also requires that the Testator have "testamentary capacity" including being of sound mind.
A Will can be straight forward and simple or very complex depending on the estate and what the Testator wants to accomplish. In drafting a Will a Texas lawyer will need to gather information from the Testator including estate assets; the names of beneficiaries, executors, trustees, and representatives; and the goals of the Testator.
If you are interested in a Will, it is often best to contact an experienced Texas probate attorney and pay a little bit to have the Will done correctly and to make sure that the Will complies with Texas probate law. If you do not, an invalid Will can be thrown out resulting in substantial legal costs, delays, and unnecessary tax liability. Even worse, an invalid Will can result in unintended distributions of property. It can be difficult to see situations where people with hundreds of thousands in assets decide to make a do it yourself Will that is invalid and results in several thousand in additional probate costs and unintentionally leaves loved ones out of inheritance.
For questions on Texas Probate matters, please send an e-mail message to Texas Probate lawyer Jason S. Coomer at texasprobatelawyer@texaslawyers.com or use our contact form.
Law Offices of Jason S. Coomer, PLLC