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Estate planning involves planning for what happens after you die and in case you are incapacitated and cannot make your own decisions.
» Estate Planning
Every adult needs estate planning. Although the state has default rules in place to take care of you if you do not have a plan, generally, you know better what you want than our legislators.
Further reading: Who Needs an Estate Plan? Everyone!
Your estate is made up of everything you own. This includes your clothes and furniture, your bank account, your car, your cats, your dogs, and your cows and goats. Other things that might make up your estate include things like mineral rights, real property, jewelry, any business you own, stock you hold, and retirement accounts. So although the word “estate” might sound fancy and like it applies only to rich people, that’s not true. Everyone has an estate.
At a minimum, as estate plan should include at least the following:
An estate plan might also include pieces such as a revocable living trust, a special needs trust, a HIPAA release, a burial authorization, or guardianship provisions for children.
McCreary Law Office always recommends that you sit down with anyone you want to name as an agent or an executor and ask if they are willing to take on this task.
As for talking with your children or other potential beneficiaries, the decision of how much to tell them will vary with each family.
At the very least, it is important that whoever will be in charge knows where you keep your plan and how to access it.
McCreary Law Office offers family meetings for families who would like to have the attorney explain estate planning to those involved.
To take the first step, schedule a Discovery Call or complete the online form. You can also call the office directly at 713-568-8600 (Houston) or 904-425-9046 (Jacksonville). From there, we'll schedule your Initial Planning Session to determine the best type of planning for your situation and goals.
Estate planning is both personal in nature and very individualized based on your particular circumstances. It’s not fill-in-the-blank, and it’s not one-size-fits-all. Thus, McCreary Law Office cannot quote fees online or on the phone because the attorney cannot know what you need for your situation until we have an initial meeting. We call that the Initial Planning Session.
The Initial Planning Session is a meeting with the attorney, up to an hour, during which the attorney can assess your situation and provide advice on what would fit you best. Based on that conversation, the attorney will explain fees and what options you have for choosing the level of protection you want. The fee is $150.
When you’re setting up your estate plan, it is not the time to look for a bargain or shop the generic aisle. And when an attorney is able to tell you what your plan will cost without asking any questions about you, the worry is that this plan is not about you but is just a form. At McCreary Law Office, the focus is on you and your situation. Because if your plan doesn’t take the nuances of your situation into play, then it is more likely to fail when it is needed most.
Attorney Jana McCreary
Houston Estate Planning Attorney Jana R. McCreary has been an attorney for over twenty years, a career move she made after working for over a decade with adults and children with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. Graduating summa cum laud… Read More