How to Start Estate Planning in Texas: A Step-by-Step Guide

Estate planning can feel overwhelming when you do not know where to begin. The process becomes more manageable when it is divided into clear decisions about your family, property, healthcare and future wishes.

To start estate planning in Texas, identify what you own, determine whom you trust to make important decisions, decide how you want property distributed and select the legal documents needed to carry out those wishes. An estate-planning attorney can then help coordinate the documents and ensure they satisfy Texas law.

This guide explains the primary steps involved in creating an estate plan in Texas.

 

Step 1: Identify What You Own

Start by creating a general inventory of your property, accounts and financial obligations. You do not necessarily need a formal appraisal of everything you own, but you should understand what may become part of your estate.

Your inventory may include:

• Your home and other real estate;

• Bank accounts;

• Retirement accounts;

• Life-insurance policies;

• Investment accounts;

• Business interests;

• Vehicles;

• Valuable personal property;

• Digital accounts and assets;

• Mortgages and other significant debts; and

• Property owned jointly with another person.

Ownership matters. Property held in your name alone may be treated differently from jointly owned property or an account containing a beneficiary designation.

Texas is also a community-property state. Whether property is community or separate property can affect the rights of a surviving spouse and other beneficiaries.

If your plan includes a home, rental property or land, coordination between Texas real estate law and estate planning can help reduce future ownership and title problems.

 

Step 2: Decide Who Should Receive Your Property

Consider whom you want to receive your property after your death. Beneficiaries may include:

• A spouse;

• Children or grandchildren;

• Other relatives;

• Friends;

• Charitable organizations; or

• A trust created for a particular person or purpose.

You should also decide what should happen if a beneficiary dies before you or cannot receive the property.

Without a valid estate plan, Texas intestacy law determines who inherits property. The result may differ from what the deceased person would have chosen, particularly in blended families or when separate property is involved.

 

Step 3: Choose an Executor

An executor is responsible for administering an estate after death. Depending on the circumstances, this may include gathering estate property, addressing debts and required notices, working with the probate court and distributing assets to beneficiaries.

Choose someone who is:

• Trustworthy;

• Organized;

• Willing to accept the responsibility;

• Able to communicate with family members and professionals; and

• Capable of handling financial and administrative tasks.

It is also helpful to name at least one alternate executor in case the first person cannot or does not want to serve.

Learn more about what may happen after death in our Texas probate resources.

 

Step 4: Select Trusted Decision-Makers

Estate planning is not limited to deciding what happens after death. A complete plan should address who can act for you if illness, injury or incapacity prevents you from making or communicating decisions.

Important roles may include:

• A financial agent under a durable power of attorney;

• A medical agent under a medical power of attorney;

• A guardian nominated in advance;

• A trustee responsible for trust property; and

• An agent authorized to handle the disposition of remains.

The same person does not have to fill every role. Consider each person’s reliability, judgment, availability and ability to perform the specific responsibility.

A durable power of attorney can authorize a trusted agent to handle designated financial matters. A medical power of attorney addresses healthcare decisions under the circumstances provided by Texas law.

 

Step 5: Consider Guardians for Minor Children

Parents of minor children should consider whom they would want to serve as guardian if neither parent could care for the children.

When evaluating potential guardians, consider:

• The person’s relationship with the children;

• Parenting approach and family environment;

• Location;

• Health and age;

• Financial responsibility;

• Willingness to serve; and

• Ability to provide long-term stability.

A parent’s written nomination is important, although a court must ultimately determine whether the appointment is legally appropriate and in the child’s best interests.

Parents may also use a trust to provide instructions for managing property inherited by a child. The person raising the child and the person managing the child’s inheritance do not necessarily have to be the same individual.

 

Step 6: Determine Which Estate-Planning Documents You Need

An estate plan may contain several coordinated documents. The correct combination depends on your family, property, health, goals and concerns.

Last Will and Testament

A will provides instructions for distributing probate property, names an executor and may nominate guardians for minor children.

A will does not necessarily prevent probate. Instead, it provides instructions for handling property that becomes subject to probate.

Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust may be used to hold and manage property during life and provide instructions for its management or distribution after death.

A trust only controls property that is properly transferred to or otherwise connected with it. Creating a trust document without properly funding the trust may leave important assets outside the intended plan.

Read more about revocable living trusts in Texas and wills versus trusts in Texas.

Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney can authorize another person to handle specified financial and property matters. The document should reflect the authority you actually want the agent to possess.

Medical Power of Attorney

A medical power of attorney allows you to designate an agent to make healthcare decisions when the document becomes effective under Texas law.

Directive to Physicians

Sometimes called a living will, a directive to physicians allows a person to provide instructions concerning certain medical treatment decisions.

HIPAA Authorization

A HIPAA authorization may permit designated individuals to receive protected health information, subject to the document’s terms.

Declaration of Guardian

This document allows a person to identify whom they would prefer—or would not prefer—to serve as guardian if a guardianship later becomes necessary.

Real Estate Transfer Documents

Depending on the circumstances, property-transfer planning may involve a Transfer on Death Deed, a trust, survivorship rights or another ownership arrangement.

Real estate documents should be coordinated carefully with the rest of the estate plan. An improperly prepared or recorded instrument can create title complications rather than prevent them.

Explore what documents are included in a Texas estate plan for a closer look at these planning tools.

 

Step 7: Review Beneficiary Designations

Some assets transfer according to a beneficiary designation or contractual arrangement rather than the terms of a will.

These may include:

• Life-insurance policies;

• Retirement accounts;

• Payable-on-death bank accounts;

• Transfer-on-death investment accounts; and

• Certain jointly owned assets.

Review the primary and contingent beneficiaries on each account. An outdated beneficiary designation may conflict with your current wishes or broader estate plan.

Life events such as marriage, divorce, birth, death and remarriage are especially important reasons to review beneficiary designations.

 

Step 8: Coordinate the Entire Plan

Estate-planning documents should work together.

For example:

• A will may leave property to one person while an account designation names someone else;

• A trust may be created but never funded;

• A real estate deed may conflict with the intended distribution;

• An executor or agent may no longer be available;

• A former spouse may remain listed on an account; or

• Different documents may name different decision-makers without a clear reason.

Reviewing the plan as a whole can identify these conflicts before they create a problem.

Small inconsistencies between documents, deeds and beneficiary designations can create significant problems later. Review the biggest estate-planning mistakes Texas families make before finalizing your plan.

 

Step 9: Sign and Execute the Documents Correctly

Texas law imposes requirements for signing and witnessing different estate-planning documents. Those requirements are not identical for every document.

A document downloaded from the internet or generated by artificial intelligence may not account for:

• Texas execution requirements;

• Community and separate property;

• Blended-family concerns;

• Existing beneficiary designations;

• Real estate ownership;

• Trust funding;

• Tax considerations; or

• The person’s actual goals.

Improper execution can lead to disputes, additional expense or a document being rejected when it is needed most.

Texas residents can review general information through TexasLawHelp and the Texas Estates Code, but general resources are not a substitute for advice based on an individual situation.

 

Step 10: Store the Plan Safely

Signed estate-planning documents should be kept in a secure location that appropriate people can access when necessary.

Consider telling your executor or another trusted individual:

• That the plan exists;

• Where the original documents are located;

• How to contact the preparing attorney; and

• Where important financial and property information can be found.

Avoid placing an original will somewhere that no one can access after your death.

 

Step 11: Review the Plan After Major Changes

Estate planning is not necessarily a one-time event. Review the plan periodically and after significant changes, including:

• Marriage or divorce;

• Birth or adoption of a child;

• Death of a beneficiary or decision-maker;

• Acquisition or sale of real estate;

• Starting or selling a business;

• A substantial change in finances;

• Moving to or from Texas;

• A serious health diagnosis; or

• Changes in family relationships.

A periodic review does not mean every document must be rewritten. The purpose is to confirm that the plan still reflects your wishes and circumstances.

 

When Should You Speak With an Estate-Planning Attorney?

Consider speaking with an attorney when:

• You are unsure which documents you need;

• You own real estate;

• You have minor children;

• You have a blended family;

• A beneficiary has a disability or special needs;

• You own a business;

• You want to use a trust;

• You are concerned about family conflict;

• You want to reduce the risk of future guardianship; or

• Existing documents no longer reflect your wishes.

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Walter Law, PLLC assists individuals and families with wills, trusts, powers of attorney, property-transfer planning and other estate-planning matters in San Antonio, Bexar County and throughout Texas.

Visit our San Antonio estate-planning attorney page to learn more about how we help families create coordinated plans.