These are difficult and uncertain times. Deal with COVID-19, changes in work situation, homeschooling, and Stay-at-Home orders can be stressful and flat-out scary.

With the Nations focus now on the our personal and communal health estate planning might not be of the greatest priority to you. Or if it is, you might have questions on how you are going to get it done without actually going to see and meet with an attorney.

Remote Planning your Legal Documents

We can help you create your estate plan from the comfort of your home. We will set up phone of Zoom meetings and serve you just like we have served others via our Virtual Law Portal, or even in-person.

Requirements for a Valid Will

Texas law sets out that to be valid, a Will must be signed by the creator, the signature of the creator must be witnessed by two disinterested persons, unless the Will is Holographic (i.e. a handwritten Will). The testator must be at least eighteen years old, while the witnesses must be at least fourteen years old and of sound mind. They must be disinterested, meaning that they do not benefit from the Will. Finally, the creator must state in the presence of the witnesses that this is his or her Will.

The Will does not have to be notarized. However, the Will can have something known as a Self-Proving Affidavit attached to it. A Self-Proving Affidavit is a notarized statement by the witnesses that they were present when the Will was signed and that they witnessed the creator sign the Will and that the creator appeared of sound mind and legal age at the time of signing. There are ways around this which require the witness to appear in court during the Probate Hearing.

Why Create An Estate Plan?

The purpose of an estate plan is to make your wishes known and make sure your property goes to who you want it to after you die. Without an estate plan the State of Texas will decide everything for you via Intestacy laws.

A well drafted estate plan at minimum contains a Last Will and Testament, Power of Attorney, a Healthcare Directive, and a Living Will. Sometimes a Trust is desired based on the age of your children, blended families, non-traditional relationships or other person circumstances.

Your estate plan may also include deeding or titling your property in an effort to avoid probate after you die. These are all solutions that we will discuss during your Peace of Mind Session.

Contact Us Today For Assistance

If you have been thinking about creating an estate plan and just never got the time for it, or you see the importance of it now, we can help you create a new plan or if you need to modify your current estate plan, our office can help too.  We can schedule phone or Zoom conference meetings with our experienced attorney and can provide your important estate planning documents to you via the internet. Just because we can’t use our office, doesn’t mean we can’t use our other resources to help you!

Remember in these demanding times and we are all in this together.  Please stay safe. Thank you for trusting us with your estate planning and other legal needs.  We are open during this crisis and here to help you get through it.