DGC Law | Trust FAQs

Trust & Estate Planning FAQs

I Have a Will, Do I Need Anything Else?

Our philosophy is that persons should face the possibility that they may become incapacitated at some point in the future. Having appropriate documents in place for your loved ones at such a difficult time is one of the most important things you can do for your family and yourself. A lack of incapacity planning will generate unnecessary additional stress for your family at a time when they least need it. Here are some documents we offer our estate planning clients:

Statutory Durable Power of Attorney
Medical Power of Attorney
HIPAA Authorization
Directive to Physicians
Appointment of Guardian in the Event of Future Need for Guardian
Anatomical Gift Card
Agent for Disposition of Remains

It is our hope that you will consider these documents so that you can decide in advance whom you would trust to make decisions on your behalf and what level of medical intervention you will tolerate.

Should I Update My Will?

We recommend reviewing your will and related documents (including beneficiary designations for life insurance and retirement plans) at least every five years. However, if any of the following have occurred since your will was last signed, you should consider having your plan updated:

Change in your marital status (by death, divorce, or marriage)
Change in marital status of a child
Birth of a child or grandchild
Death of a child or grandchild
Significant change in financial condition (up or down)
Significant change in your health status (or that of a close family member)
Significant change in family dynamics
Need for asset protection
Transfer to a new state

It is important to coordinate all beneficiary designations with your overall estate plan so that your comprehensive wishes will be carried out. Please let us know if we can assist you with updating your wills and related documents.

How Much Is This Going to Cost?

We pride ourselves on personalized service. No two clients and no two estates are exactly alike, so it is impossible for us to quote you a firm fee up front. However, if you engage the firm to handle matters relating to the death of a loved one, the firm will charge you by the hour for the time necessary to handle the matter. We are sensitive to our clients' desires to have their matters handled efficiently. It is impossible to know with certainty how much of our time will need to be devoted to a matter, but we will be up front with you about what you can expect.

If you engage the firm to help you with your estate plan, we can typically estimate a range of fees you will incur for us to prepare your documents. Of course, the estimate includes our best guess about the amount of time we will spend on document preparation. However, the time we devote to meetings and telephone calls cannot be estimated and will simply be billed by the hour in addition to the estimated fees for preparing your individualized documents.

I'm In a Blended Family, Does That Complicate Our Estate Planning?

It is extremely important that both spouses in a blended family engage in appropriate planning for both incapacity and death. And, the planning will probably differ depending on the age of all persons involved and the relationships of the parties. The options are as varied as the families themselves. Plus, an overriding issue for persons in Texas is the impact of community property laws on the marital estates.

For instance, if the parties have been married a long time and all of the children were raised essentially in one home, the ultimate distribution pattern might be to provide for the surviving spouse after the first death, then plan to distribute the assets in equal shares to the children after the second death. This plan is a popular one, but consideration must be given to the possibility that the surviving spouse might remarry after the first spouse's death and decide to provide for a subsequent spouse or that the survivor may simply change his or her plan to provide only for one set of children at the second death. One possible solution to these issues is to design the plan of the first spouse to die to include a trust for the survivor, providing that at the survivor's death all assets will be distributed equally among all children. But, this type of plan may not make sense where one of the spouses is close in age to the children of the other spouse. Resentment may result while the children of the first spouse to die sit around and wait for "their" inheritance.

The plan might differ, however, if the parties were married late in life and after all children were grown. In this situation, it might make sense to leave life insurance or retirement assets to either the children or the surviving spouse, and leaving other assets to the other parties. If the estate is large enough, splitting it between the survivor and the children of the deceased might make sense; however, consideration should be given to the federal estate tax consequences in doing so. If the parties consciously decide to exclude certain children or stepchildren from the plan, consideration should be given to techniques designed to reduce the likelihood of litigation.

A plan for a blended family might include post-marital agreements to define the rights of the parties to particular property. These are sometimes accompanied by partition agreements to turn community property into separate property of the spouses, or the reverse, known as a transmutation agreement. There may be federal estate tax benefits to converting certain separate property assets into community property assets. However, this should be done with great care as doing so can have severe adverse consequences if the marriage ends in divorce.

Spouses in blended families must make careful planning for the possibility of later incapacity. Several self-determination documents are appropriate to determine in advance who will be making general medical and end of life decisions if a spouse becomes incapacitated. These documents can reduce the possibility that a guardianship might be needed.

Another possible area of conflict in blended family situations is planning the funeral. Care should be given in deciding who should be in charge of funeral arrangements so disagreements over such emotional issues can be kept to a minimum.

If the spouses fail to plan, the draconian laws of intestacy will determine the rights of the parties upon a death. This is rarely the result most married couples in blended families want. And, the expense in administering these estates can be quite high.

In addition, it is not uncommon for persons to decide to live together and not ceremonially marry. It is often appropriate in those situations to consider a non-marital agreement to define the rights of the parties in the property they own. In fact, failing to have a non-marital agreement in this situation can actually make things more complicated upon a death than getting formally married. Texas still recognizes informal marriage in certain circumstances (commonly referred to as "common law" marriage), which can substantially alter the distributees of your estate.

As you might imagine, candid discussions and careful planning can help eliminate many problems that can otherwise result in these delicate situations. Because each family is unique, this brief overview should not be treated as a substitute for legal advice. Feel free to contact us to discuss your particular situation.

Do You Make House Calls?

There are rare occasions where house calls can be made, but doing so adds considerable additional cost to your bill. As an alternative, if mobility is an issue, please contact us about the availability of our wheelchair. If needed, we can even have someone available to assist with parking your vehicle.