"Why do I need a will?"

In Texas, if a married person dies without a Will or Living Trust, his or her surviving spouse will inherit only 1/3 of his separate property.

Under Texas law, if a married person dies without a Will or Living Trust and has children from a previous marriage, 100% of the deceased spouse's probate community property will go to his children, not to the surviving spouse.

In Texas, if you include special language in your Will requesting an independent administration, you can potentially save your heirs thousands of dollars in legal fees when they probate your Will.  If your heirs are still minors at the time of your death, you can avoid the need for expensive guardianship proceedings on their behalf, if you set up trusts for them in your Will or Living Trust.

You are more likely to avoid hurt feelings and family discord if you have an estate planning attorney draft clear, unambiguous, instructions in your Will or Living Trust as to how your estate is to be handled and distributed.