ESTATE PLANNING

Fort Worth Estate Planning Attorney

Estate Planning Solutions. Your Legacy. Your Way.

Wills + Powers of Attorney + Living Wills + Trusts

Estate planning attorney Bob Leonard makes estate planning simple. As a practicing probate attorney, he sees the pitfalls of poorly drafted estate planning. It is his goal to help each client achieve the results they desire. No one should be without an estate plan; no one should be without a Will in Texas.

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Estate Planning Packages

As your estate planning attorney, Bob removes the guesswork. For basic individual estate planning needs, or where neither spouse anticipates a taxable estate, a basic estate planning package will be sufficient to meet most situations. We will draft your will or trust so that your estate passes to your heirs or beneficiaries in a manner consistent with your wishes.


In addition to your Will, Bob drafts and prepares estate planning ancillary documents, including Statutory Durable Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, and Designation of Guardian. These additional documents help ensure that the people you trust are the ones who make decisions on your behalf in the event of your incapacity. By executing these documents and keeping them current, you may avoid the need for a guardianship later in life.


Finally, many people like to have a Directive to Physicians, commonly known as a Living Will. This document outlines your wishes in the event you are in a terminal or irreversible medical condition. Of course hospital ethics boards or other professionals may be charged with the final decision. Bob likes to say that the Directive gives you “a seat at the table.”

Estate Planning Documents:

Will 

A Will allows you to dispose of some or all your property upon your death. The document appoints an Executor to manage your estate and provides the Executor with instructions for the distribution of your assets to your beneficiaries. 

 

Statutory Durable Power of Attorney 

A Statutory Durable Power of Attorney (POA) allows you to name an Agent to act on your behalf and to make financial decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. The document provides a list of the powers awarded to the Agent and can include banking and real estate transactions. We typically do not recommend allowing an Agent to change your estate planning wishes by making gifts or changing the beneficiaries on accounts or insurance policies. It is important to note that although a Power of Attorney, by law, is valid forever, there are financial institutions that will not accept one that is more than 5 years old; be sure to keep these updated. 

 

Medical Power of Attorney 

A Medical Power of Attorney (POA) allows you to designate an Agent to act on your behalf and to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to do so yourself. The document authorizes your agent to speak with doctors and medical professionals regarding your care and to consent to treatment or refuse treatment. It is important to note that although a Power of Attorney, by law, is valid forever, there are medical facilities that will not accept one that is more than 5 years old; be sure to keep these updated. 

 

Directive to Physicians (Living Will) 

A Directive to Physicians allows you to provide your input and wishes to physicians or hospital personnel in the event you are in a terminal or irreversible condition. In the event you have a terminal condition from which you are expected to die within six months even with life-sustaining treatment, you can request that you receive only treatment to keep you comfortable or you can request that you be kept alive using life-sustaining treatment. In the event you have an irreversible condition and, in the judgment of your physician, would be expected to die without life-sustaining treatment, you can request that you be kept comfortable only or that you be keep alive in the irreversible condition using life-sustaining treatment. It is important to know that this document allows you to express your wishes, but the ultimate decisions may be made by your doctors or a hospital ethics committee. 

 

Declaration of Guardian 

A Declaration of Guardian allows you to choose the person you would want to be your guardian in the event a guardian was necessary. This document provides the judge with the benefit of knowledge of your wishes if a guardianship proceeding were filed in court. Although the court is not bound by your choice of guardian if the person you choose were to be disqualified or found unsuitable, the judge will consider the document. More importantly, if you indicate that there is a person you do not want as your guardian, the judge will honor that request. You can also choose one person to be guardian of your person and another to be guardian of your estate. 

 

Declaration of Appointment of Guardian for Children 

A Designation of Guardian for Children allows you to name the person you would want to take care of your minor children if something were to die or become incapacitated. The person you choose still must qualify and be appointed by the court. 

 

Designation of Health Care Agent for Minor Children 

The Designation of Health Care Agent for Minor Children allows you to appoint an agent to make health care decisions in the event you are unable to do so through incapacity or death or if you are unavailable to do so. The document provides that the Agent be allowed access to all health records and given the ability to make decisions. This document is most often used when parents travel frequently and cannot be reached in emergency situations. 

 

Declaration for Mental Health Treatment

The Declaration for Mental Health Treatment provides very specific and detailed instructions regarding treatment for mental health if you do not have capacity to do so. It allows you to specify symptoms of mental disorder and allows you to consent to treatment with psychoactive medication and electroconvulsive or other convulsive treatment. The reason to choose to execute this document is that your Medical Power of Attorney or Guardianship Order may not be sufficient for your doctors.

 

Appointment for Disposition of Remains 

An Appointment for Disposition of Remains allows you to designate the person who will control what happens to your body after your death. 

Estate Planning Process

First you will complete a series of documents with questions pertaining to your estate planning wishes. Next you will meet with our estate planning experts to review and clarify your questionnaire. At this time you will have the opportunity to discuss your estate planning goals in greater detail and obtain sound advice to help you make your final decisions.


Following the meeting, we will draft your documents. Then you will review the documents and make any changes you would like to make. After that, when your last changes are made, we will schedule a Will Signing Ceremony. Our Will Signing Ceremony is done in strict adherence to Texas Probate Law to ensure that everything is done properly.


If you are homebound or in an assisted living facility, we can arrange to come to you for your estate planning needs. Call the family law office of Bob Leonard today 817-336-8500, we take the guesswork out of estate planning with sound advice and properly written documents.

Trusts

A Trust is a separate legal entity that holds title to property for the benefit of persons you specify. Many people set up Trusts for their own benefit during their lifetimes, and then specify where the property should go after they pass away. Some people believe the main advantage of using a Trust is that if property is titled in a Trust you may be able to avoid probate.

DO I NEED A TRUST?

In many instances the intentions behind a trust are satisfied through basic trust provisions that can be part of a Will. Sometimes there is a need for a specific purpose trust when leaving property to a minor child or an incapacitated or disabled individual.  A trust can an effective tool to manage your property, and then easily transfer management to another person or entity under certain conditions – for example, should you become incapacitated. Trusts are also useful where a person owns real property in more than one state, as they can help you avoid probate in multiple jurisdictions. Many trust needs can be put into your Will. To learn more, call our office.

Taxable Estate

Most relatively simple estates (cash, publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property) do not require the filing of an estate tax return. A filing is required for estates with combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts exceeding $1,500,000 in 2004 - 2005; $2,000,000 in 2006 - 2008; $3,500,000 for decedents dying in 2009; and $5,000,000 or more for decedent's dying in 2010 and 2011 (note: there are special rules for decedents dying in 2010); $5,120,000 in 2012, $5,250,000 in 2013, $5,340,000 in 2014, $5,430,000 in 2015, $5,450,000 in 2016, $5,490,000 in 2017, $11,180,000 in 2018, $11,400,000 in 2019, $11,580,000 in 2020, and $11,700,000 in 2021.   IRS as of October, 2021

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