How Do I Create a Comprehensive Estate Plan?

It’s not easy for anyone to think about the end of their lives and leaving behind the people they love. But it’s an act of love to create a careful a comprehensive estate plan that will protect the people in your life from being unduly burdened while they’re trying to grieve your loss. An estate planning attorney in San Antonio can help you make sure that your plan is in good shape and accounts for everything.

Your first step should be to hire an attorney. The more complicated your estate and the greater your assets, the more important this step is. An attorney can help you get through all of this much more quickly, will make sure that everything is airtight, legally, and can make sure that you haven’t missed anything important along the way.

You can’t make a plan unless you know what you want to accomplish, so there are a couple goals here you want to think about. First, what are your family’s needs, and how do you want to provide for them? Second, who are your beneficiaries, and is there a chance any of those names will change soon?

Is there anyone you’re planning to leave out of your will who would normally benefit, like a child? If you deliberately want to leave one of your children out of your will, you will need to talk to your lawyer about doing this right. Otherwise, there can be a lot of difficulty as the estate goes through probate if that child wishes to contest your will. Similarly, if there’s someone you want to include as a beneficiary who would normally not be included in a will, such as a friend, again it’s important to talk with your lawyer about how exactly to go about doing this.

You will need a full inventory of your assets. Your lawyer will go over this with you to make sure you haven’t missed anything and to verify that all the assets on your list are things you have the right to pass on to others. If some of your assets are encumbered in some way, your lawyer can help you work through this now, before there’s a problem for your heirs.

Your assets will likely include real estate, vehicles, and certain personal possessions and collectibles. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, bank accounts, certificates of deposit, life insurance policies, health savings accounts, and retirement accounts should also all be properly inventoried before starting. If you have a business that you will pass on or which should be sold at your death, you will want to talk to a business evaluator to find out what it’s worth now and project worth into the future.

It’s also important to list any liabilities that may have creditors knocking at the door of your estate. This would include any lines of credit you have, mortgages, healthcare or education debt, and anything else. Even if you’re still young and plan to pay all of this off in the near future, it’s important to plan for these things in the estate just in case.

Your will is the key foundational document in your estate planning. Your will should include how all your assets are to be distributed, explain what you want done with those assets if they’re not distributed or there are special instructions for how they are to be used by your heirs, provide for how any underage children will be cared for in the event of your death before they become adults, and much more.

The specifics of your will definitely depend on your specific estate situation, so it’s important to talk with your lawyer about what should go in your will and have a lawyer review it to make sure it’s going to do what you think.

There are all kinds of legal directives you can set up to manage your estate. A living will, for example, will explain what you want in terms of medical care if you’re still alive but unable to make decisions for yourself. Your living will can also name a person you trust to have medical power of attorney over you. That means if you’re unable to make your own healthcare decisions, they can make them for you.

Another directive you might consider is setting up a trust. Trusts can be irrevocable or revocable, and they allow you to put your assets away and select a trustee to manage those assets for your benefit and the benefit of your heirs. If you have a revocable trust, you can continue to retain control over the assets; but if you become ill or incapacitated, your trustee will take over. With an irrevocable trust, you have no control over the assets once you put them in the trust. Both have benefits and drawbacks, and you’ll need to talk to a lawyer about what’s right for you.

Another directive is to set up a person with power of attorney to manage your finances if you’re unable to. You can give this person complete control in the event of your disability or only limited control, depending on the situation. You can also give limited authority to a person just to do some specific job, such as closing the sale of a home on your behalf.

There are a lot of pieces to an estate that it’s easy to overlook. For example, if you took out a life insurance policy many years ago or established a savings account with a beneficiary, you may have someone listed as a beneficiary for those things who is no longer part of your life. It’s important to check all your accounts and make sure that the right people are going to get the right things upon your death. If you have any asset at all with the beneficiary section, be sure to put someone’s name in there. If you don’t, then your assets in that account may be distributed based on the state’s laws rather than your wishes.

Another thing to consider is contingent beneficiaries. If one of the people named as your beneficiary dies before you do, and you forget to update your estate planning, the contingent beneficiary will then get the inheritance. The most common thing here is to name your grandchildren as contingent beneficiaries in case one of your children passes away before you do, but it’s a good idea to have contingent beneficiaries for every part of your inheritance.

Thankfully, here in Texas, there is no estate tax. However, there is a federal estate tax, and it’s important to make sure that your estate doesn’t lose anything more to taxes than necessary. You must have a pretty big estate for federal tax to apply: over $13.99 million in 2025. But if your state would be subjected tax, it’s very important to think about trusts, gifts, and other ways to minimize this burden.

For help with your estate planning, visit the HGC Law Firm in San Antonio today or call us at 210-222-9132.