Wills in Texas

The last thing most people want to do is address their mortality. However, wills are necessary to avoid family discord after someone has passed away. Revising your will is important when you marry, have children, and get divorced, particularly with blended families.

Without a will, Texas has a distinct way of distributing your property when you die. Dying without a will is called intestacy or dying "intestate." In that situation, it doesn't matter what you want done with your property, only how the Texas Probate Code says your estate (property) will be divided.

Wills are particularly important if you and/or your current spouse are divorced with children from a prior marriage. For example, if you have step-children and would like those children to inherit from you, that will never happen if you don't have a will.

A will is also important if you are estranged from a particular family member and want to assure that person gets none of your property. If you are single, you certainly want a will in this instance because based on the rules of intestacy, that disavowed family member could end up with a portion of your estate.

A will is probably the most important document you will ever create yet only a fraction of adults have one. The reasons for not creating a will are fairly straightforward - either people don't want to face their own mortality or they believe they have plenty of time to accomplish this task.

At the Decker Law Firm we don't look at a will in that same light. We see it as an opportunity to let your loved ones know exactly what you want to happen once you are gone and to identify what you want to happen to your belongings after you are gone. Your family will appreciate your eliminating the guess work. Without this information being written down it is very challenging to get all the nuances correct. Death is an extremely stressful time for families and you shouldn't expect your family will remember that something you said and thought extremely important 20 years ago. A will assures you choose where your property goes, rather than the State of Texas making that decision for you. A will gives you control over your estate after you are gone. A will gives you the literal last word and reduces a bit of the stress your family will most certainly feel at your passing.

The Decker Law Firm, a Dallas/Fort Worth area (D/FW) firm, can work with you to examine all the considerations necessary to assure your estate is divided as you wish.