Estate Planning Guide
Texas estate planning checklist: what every family should have in place.
A practical look at the documents, decisions, and reviews that keep a Texas estate plan current.
Why a checklist helps
The documents record decisions. The decisions come first.
Estate planning is often described as a set of documents, but the paperwork is only the record of decisions you have already made. Those decisions are about who steps in if you cannot act, who inherits what, and how property passes without avoidable cost or conflict. A checklist keeps the decisions visible, so nothing important is left to assumption or to state law by default.
In Texas, the rules that apply when someone dies without a plan, or becomes unable to manage their own affairs, are specific and often unforgiving. Working through a checklist helps a family see which pieces are already in place and which are still open.
The Core Documents
What most Texas families should have.
Not every plan looks the same, and the right structure depends on your family, your property, and your goals. These are the documents that most Texas plans are built around.
- Last will and testament
- Directs who receives your property, names an executor to administer the estate, and can nominate a guardian for minor children.
- Revocable living trust
- Holds property during your life and can pass it to your beneficiaries without the same court process a will requires. Whether it fits depends on your assets, property, and goals.
- Durable power of attorney
- Names the person authorized to handle financial and property matters if you become unable to act for yourself.
- Medical power of attorney and directive to physicians
- States who speaks for your health care decisions and the treatment you want, so your family is not left to guess.
- Beneficiary designations
- Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by contract, not by will. An outdated designation overrides everything else you have written.
- Deed and title review
- For Texas real property, how a deed is held and who is on title often determines what happens next, whatever the will says.
The documents only work as a set. A will that gives property one way while a beneficiary designation gives it another creates the conflict families end up litigating. Review the estate planning services page for the matters the firm handles.
Staying Current
When to revisit your plan.
An estate plan is a living document. It should be reviewed after any event that changes who you are protecting or what you own:
- Marriage, divorce, or a new partner
- A birth, adoption, or death in the family
- A significant purchase or sale of property
- A move to another state
- A new business or a change in business ownership
- A change in who should serve as executor, trustee, or agent
A plan that is never reviewed can quietly stop doing what the family assumes it does. A few years is a reasonable outside limit even when nothing obvious has changed.
How the Firm Approaches Planning
Legal judgment and a property owner's perspective.
Alisha Melvin, Esq. brings an attorney’s analysis and more than 25 years of real estate experience to planning work. Because the family home is frequently the largest asset in a Texas estate, deeds, title records, and how property is held are part of the conversation rather than an afterthought. The goal is a plan that fits the family in front of her, not a template.
Planning begins with a paid consultation, where the scope of the matter is discussed before any work is undertaken. You can review the paid consultation options to choose the appointment that fits.
Questions We Hear
Frequently asked questions.
Related Guides
More on Texas estate and property matters.
- Probate and Estate Administration in TexasHow probate works, when it can be avoided, and what families should expect from the process.
- Estate Planning and IncapacityWills, trusts, powers of attorney, and the documents that keep decisions in your hands.
- Real Estate, Title, and Deed MattersDeeds, title issues, and property transfers, viewed with an attorney and broker's eye.
- Inherited and Jointly Owned PropertyPartition, heirship, and the practical questions that follow property passing to several owners.
- Texas Probate With a Will: The OptionsA closer look at the probate paths available when a valid will exists in Texas.
Begin with a paid consultation.
Choose a quick consultation for initial direction or a full hour to discuss your matter in greater detail.
Law Office of Melvin & Associates does not offer free consultations or unpaid case evaluations. Payment does not clear conflicts or establish ongoing representation.