Your Default Estate Plan in Texas
If you don’t have an estate plan in Texas, one will be provided for you. This default estate plan is written into Texas law. It sets the rules for how a person’s estate must be managed and administered after death or disability.
When a person is incapacitated, Texas guardianship laws allows someone else manage the property and health care of the disabled person.
When a person dies without a last will and testament, Texas inheritance laws requires allows someone else to gather estate property, pay debts, and distribute the rest to heirs.
So, if you don’t have an estate plan of your own, Texas state law will determine what happens to your property.
Customizing Your Estate Plan
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid much of the expense, complexity, and uncertainty that come with the default estate plan provided to you by the laws of Texas. You can override the default rules, to a great extent, by creating legally enforceable documents that allow your estate to be managed and administered the way you want it to be. You can also have more control over your property and health care and keep it more private.
You can customize your estate plan by creating legally enforceable estate planning documents. They include:
- Last Will and Testament
- Trust
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Advance Directive
- Medical Power of Attorney
- Appointment of Guardian
The importance of using the right document for the right job in building your estate plan cannot be exaggerated. Each document has a specific function, and no single document can craft your entire estate plan.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Your last will & testament cannot control who gets the money from a life insurance policy. It’s not the right tool for the job. Changing your will does not change your life insurance policy. You must change both your will and your life insurance policy. This also applies to other assets you may have like retirement and pension benefit plans.