Most of us have no idea when we will die, and we don’t know what assets we will have at that time. So, even if your property now is not great, you likely will have more when you die.

Also, if you have any interest in real property, or automobiles, or other personal property, it will make it easier on those you leave behind if you have left a will. Under Texas law, a self-proved will with a provision for an Independent Executor will lead to the quickest, cheapest resolution of your estate.

Texas has already written a sort of will for those who don’t leave their own will. It is called the law of interstate succession and is found at Section 37 and Section 45 of the Texas Probate Code.

Many of us get invitations to come to seminars to learn how to avoid costly probate and estate taxes. These usually are run by life insurance agents. They don’t like lawyers, and will tell you that the lawyers will charge you unfairly for a lot of stuff you don’t need. They propose irrevocable trusts to avoid probate and estate taxes. The idea is that you transfer what you own before death, and therefore there is no estate to probate, or to tax.

There is certainly a place for irrevocable trusts, and there are people who need to make some plans to avoid estate taxes. However, an irrevocable trust is permanent, it can not be changed. Sometimes we live longer than we figured, and things change so that we might want to make different arrangements. You should think carefully before making an irrevocable trust, think it through, and consider what unexpected changes might take place.

In Texas, probate does not have to be the nightmare of expense the life insurance salesmen make out. In many cases, about all that is needed is to file an application to probate the will, file the will with the court, attend a brief hearing before the probate judge, complete some paperwork, take the executor’s oath, and file an inventory, appraisement and list of claims. (This is not usually very complicated.) Of course, the more property there is, the more beneficiaries, special gifts, etc there are, the more complicated, and therefore the more expensive the probate will be.

Lets talk about it!

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