In the state of Texas, the hourly rates for estate lawyers can vary, but they typically fall between $150 and $400 per hour. Rates can vary depending on several factors, including location, the type of legal issues involved, and the lawyer’s experience and background.
An initial legal consultation in Texas with a Texas lawyer can help you understand your estate issues more clearly, and can give you a better picture of what the overall costs might be. and the other types of deeds that are used in that state for real property. Texas estate attorneys are familiar with estate law and have extensive background with a wide range of matters, such as estate planning cases for their clients.
What Does an Estate Planning Attorney Do in Texas?
The goal of an estate planning attorney is to create a complete plan. Estate planning involves first developing an inventory of a client’s assets, which is all the property they own, personal, intellectual and real property. They then need to work with the client in order to learn what the client wants to happen to their property when they pass away.
The lawyer would then analyze options available for achieving the client’s goals. The analysis would include tax planning, which would mean taking into account the tax consequences of the available options. The attorney would then formulate a plan.
Once the client has approved of the plan, the lawyer would then draft the documents needed to put the plan into effect. This might involve drafting a will and or trust documents that set up a trust or trusts. It might also involve arranging for the transfer of ownership of accounts outside of probate through the designation of beneficiaries for retirement or investment accounts.
Ideally, a complete estate plan should address all of an individual’s assets including the following:
- Real Property: This would include land and buildings, both residential and commercial.
- Bank Accounts: This would include all types of accounts that a person maintains in a bank, including checking, savings and investment accounts.
- Life Insurance: Life insurance payouts are made to the beneficiaries named in the policy and sometimes are not involved in the probate of an estate, but a policy or policies could be part of an estate plan.
- Investment Accounts. Investment accounts could represent various types of investment, e.g., retirement savings accounts, brokerage accounts and the like.
- Intellectual Property: Intellectual property can include trademarks, trade secrets, patents, copyrighted material and anything else that is considered intellectual property.
- Personal Property: Personal property would include a person’s belongings, their household contents, cars, boats, and all of the physical items they own that are not real estate.
- Businesses: A person may be the sole owner of a business. Or they may be a co-owner or partner in a business. Determining what should happen to the person’s interest in a business enterprise would be a major concern in the creation of an estate plan.
Of course, not everyone has extensive assets or owns interests in a business. The size of a person’s estate and the complexity of the estate plan that they need would have an effect on estate lawyer cost. An individual who has a modest estate and only needs a simple will would pay less for the service of an estate lawyer than a person who is wealthy and has extensive assets.
In Texas, What Factors Are Used When Determining Estate Lawyer Fees?
The cost of hiring an estate planning lawyer affected by a variety of facts, such as the following:
- Value of a Person’s Assets: Some estate planning attorneys charge a flat fee that depends on the value of a person’s total assets. So, for example, they may have a scale that includes the total value of a person’s assets and the flat fee they would charge for a complete estate plan for an estate with a specified value.
- Experience and Reputation: Attorneys who have more experience in a particular area of practice are likely to charge more. Those who have already established a reputation for special skill in estate law may charge higher fees than those who are new to a particular market.
- Market Location: The cost of living and the average rates for legal services can vary significantly depending on where a person lives. Generally, attorney’s fees are higher in urban areas such as Houston or Dallas than in more rural areas.
- Size of a Person’s Estate: The more complex a person’s assets and finances are, the more time and effort an estate attorney would have to spend drafting their plan. This would cause fees to be higher.
- Type of Services: Some attorneys may charge a flat fee for a straightforward, basic estate planning package, while others may bill hourly for more complex or customized services. An attorney might do a combination of a flat fee and an hourly fee.
- Billing Method: Generally, a lawyer may calculate the lawyer cost for an estate plan by charging either a flat fee or an hourly rate.
A person should ask whatever questions they wish to ask their prospective estate lawyer so that they understand how they will be billed. Ideally, they should have a written agreement with their lawyer that specifies the service they will receive and at what cost.
How Much Does It Cost To Draft an Estate Plan in Texas?
The fee that an estate lawyer would charge to draft a complete estate plan would depend on the factors noted above. The cost to a consumer depends on the lawyer, their billing policy and the nature of the plan a person needs, whether complex or simple. In many markets in Texas, fees may fall within a certain range as follows:
- Basic Will: $1,500 to $3,500
- Trust: $1,000 to $3,000 per trust
- Comprehensive estate plan, which would include powers of attorney and a health directive, discussed below: $2,000 to $10,000.
The amounts cited above are estimates, and particular lawyers in particular locations in Texas may well charge different amounts. An individual should never hesitate to ask an estate lawyer how they would bill the individual if they hire the lawyer to provide them with an estate plan and how much it would cost.
They should also ask what the lawyer’s consultation fee is for a first legal consultation. These are perfectly legitimate questions for a person to ask any lawyer they may hire.
What Are the Advantages of Hiring an Estate Attorney in Texas?
Many forms for creating wills, trusts and other legal documents are available online. They invite a person to try to create their own estate plan at no cost. However, there are complexities to estate law of which many people may not be aware.
In addition, there are tax implications to all of the options that a person has. And a person may well not be aware of all the options they have as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
Learning about all the possible options and the consequences of each could consume a large amount of time and generate stress. Instead, an individual can consult an experienced attorney who is already thoroughly informed and, in collaboration with their client, can create a plan that may have features the client has never heard of before.
Finally, an individual can feel confident that they have a professional quality plan that is free of errors that could prove costly in the future. It is worth the peace of mind to incur the cost of having a seasoned professional estate lawyer create a person’s estate plan.
What Services Do Estate Lawyers Typically Provide in Texas?
In addition to estate planning, estate lawyers may become involved when a person passes away and their estate must go through the probate process. Typically, a person named by the decedent serves as the executor of a person’s estate for the purposes of probate. They may need legal advice about some aspect of probate and would turn to an estate lawyer for that advice.
Again, if a person’s estate has a large value and involves a wide range of assets, e.g., a significant interest in a business, the advice of a different type of lawyer might be needed, e.g., a tax lawyer, and the executor or their estate lawyer may seek the advice of this lawyer.
In any event, probate generally involves making a complete inventory of the deceased’s assets, submitting and validating the deceased person’s will (if they have one), and dealing with the deceased person’s debts and any tax obligations they may have had. Once this work is complete, the executor would distribute the assets in the estate to the heirs of the deceased person as the will directs.
Disputes may arise during the probate process. For example, someone may dispute the validity of the will. Or the executor may believe they have a reason to dispute the claim of a creditor who has demanded payment of a debt from the assets in the estate. The estate lawyer would handle issues of this type, if they arise, in addition to managing the steps in the standard probate process.
Another service that estate lawyers typically provide is the drafting of powers of attorney and healthcare directives. Powers of attorney could be needed when a person becomes incapacitated and is not able to manage their own affairs competently.
With a financial power of attorney, an individual can give another the authority to manage the individual’s financial affairs. A medical power of attorney authorizes another person to make medical decisions on the person’s behalf when they are not able to make and communicate healthcare decisions for themselves.
Another important document with respect to healthcare is a healthcare directive. Healthcare directives are also referred to as “living wills.” A healthcare directive communicates to healthcare professionals an individual’s wishes regarding their medical care in the event they are unable to make and communicate their wishes themselves.
Generally a person is especially interested in having a healthcare directive, because it would include directions about what to do if a person is terminally ill or in a coma and needs such care as intubation or mechanical ventilation.
Generally, estate lawyers would probably charge a flat fee for the preparation of power of attorney documents or healthcare directives. An estate lawyer might charge between $150 and $500 for each of these documents.
Should I Hire a Texas Estate Attorney?
If you do not have a will or any other elements of a plan for what will happen to your assets in the event of your passing, you need to talk to a Texas estate lawyer. Your lawyer will collect the information they need to draft a plan that is complete and tailored to your exact needs.
In addition to an estate plan, your lawyer can prepare powers of attorney and healthcare directives that you need. You can then be confident that your wishes regarding your affairs, your healthcare, and your assets will be carried out as you wish in all circumstances.
