Estate Planning

Estate Planning Attorneys in Rockwall, Texas

Skilled lawyers create wills, trusts and other documents to protect and transfer assets

Throughout Rockwall, Dallas, Collin and Kaufman Counties, Grob & Associates Law Firm PC provides personalized counsel to clients on estate planning issues. Whether you’re looking to draft a simple will, revise an existing legal document or create a living trust to ease the transfer of assets to your beneficiaries, our accomplished Texas attorneys can help you achieve the right solution. 

Understanding estate planning in Texas

Estate planning is a general term for the steps you can take to preserve your wealth, direct how assets will be distributed upon your death and make sure that a defined decision-making process is in place should you lose the ability to communicate. Through wills, trusts and other legal documents, our attorneys can develop an overall strategy that fits your circumstances and goals. 

Benefits of hiring an experienced estate planning lawyer

Even if your goals are relatively simple, your estate planning documents must meet certain standards in order to be enforceable. Many people unfortunately seek to handle things on their own or by consulting with someone online who might not grasp the specific requirements of Texas law. When this occurs, problems may not be discovered until after it is too late to correct them. At our firm, we’ll point out options that you might have overlooked and ensure that each legal instrument is tailored to your needs and compliant with the pertinent statutes. 

Elements of a comprehensive estate planning strategy

We prepare a full range of Texas estate planning documents for residents of Rockwall County and the surrounding areas, such as: 

• Wills — An enforceable last will and testament is an essential part of your overall asset distribution strategy. 
• Trusts — Moving assets into a trust can offer benefits before and after your passing, such as transferring property to beneficiaries without making them wait for the completion of probate. 
• Power of attorney documents — You can execute a power of attorney that authorizes an agent to act on your behalf. This grant of power can be general or limited to a specific matter. Many people execute a durable power of attorney that can remain in effect if they become incapacitated due to injury or illness. 
• Healthcare directives — Sometimes referred to as an advance directive, a healthcare directive gives you the ability to declare what types of medical treatment you want and don’t want should you become mentally incapacitated. This documents can be enforced if a patient cannot communicate their decisions. A living will is a healthcare directive that concerns life-sustaining measures you wish to be given or withheld. 

No one can be sure what the future holds, so you should act promptly if you have no estate plan or if your current arrangements fail to address key issues. 

Roles involved in the development and execution of trust and estate instruments

Some people are intimidated by the estate planning process because it seems confusing or because of the emotions involved. We will explain the applicable laws and terminology clearly while treating you with respect and sensitivity. Our firm advises individuals in all of the following roles:

• Testator — When drafting a will, we make sure that the document satisfies Texas legal requirements and reflects the testator’s true intentions. 
• Grantor — Sometimes referred to as a trust creator, the grantor sets forth the terms of a trust and appoints someone to act as trustee. 
• Executor — The testator of a will designates someone to act as executor, who is responsible for filing the document in court. That person likely will be appointed the representative of the estate and will have a legal duty to carry out the terms of the will.
• Trustee — A trustee is responsible for preserving trust assets and distributing them in accordance with the instructions provided by the grantor. You may serve as the trustee of a trust you create and designate a successor trustee to serve after your death. 
• Beneficiary — Someone who is to receive assets from an estate planning instrument is referred to as a beneficiary. Heirs, who are people legally entitled to inherit property from a decedent, may or may not be designated as beneficiaries.
• Agent — Should a power of attorney go into effect, the person who has the legal authority to act on the power creator’s behalf is called the agent. 

Whatever your role might be, our estate planning attorneys will provide guidance from start to finish so you understand your options and responsibilities. 

Benefits of preparing enforceable wills, trusts and healthcare directives

Comprehensive estate planning involves much more than declaring where you want your property to go when you die. We’ll take the time to discuss how to construct a program that suits all your priorities, such as:

• Enforcing your medical treatment preferences if you are incapacitated
• Transferring assets outside of the potentially lengthy probate process
• Controlling how assets you leave behind are used
• Maintaining privacy
• Minimizing the possibility of legal challenges
• Protecting your children from a previous relationship

When you work with us, you won’t just have a framework for efficient asset distribution; you’ll have a complete program that provides you with peace of mind and that will ease the burden on your loved ones. 

Contact our Rockwall, TX law office to discuss your estate planning needs

Grob & Associates Law Firm PC assists North Texas residents with a full range of estate planning concerns. Please call 972-777-5701 or contact us online to schedule an appointment. Our offices are in Rockwall and Wylie.