How does the online document service work?

You create a client account, choose your documents, pay, and answer a structured online interview. A system designed by Walter Wm. Hofheinz, a Board Certified estate planning attorney, prepares Texas documents from your answers. You review them, print or download them immediately, and sign them as the included checklist directs. You have 30 days to revise them.

What are the steps?

1. Create a client account. Provide the needed information. All information is treated as attorney-client communication (see Privacy & Confidentiality).
2. Choose your documents. A Will, a Durable Power of Attorney for property, a Medical Power of Attorney, and a Directive to Physicians. Prices are on the pricing page.
3. Make payment. Pay securely by major credit card, ACH payments, and electronic checks.
4. Enter and verify your information. A structured online interview asks for the details needed to produce your customized documents.
5. Review, then print or download. Your documents are available immediately.
6. Sign as instructed, following the checklist provided with each document.

How are the documents delivered?

Each document is available immediately when you complete the information entry process. You review it in your client account, then print or download it. A checklist for signing each document comes with it.

A document is not effective until you sign it correctly. Preparation and signing are separate steps. A Texas Will must be signed on paper, before two witnesses who are at least 14 years of age and who sign in your physical presence (Tex. Est. Code § 251.051). A Durable Power of Attorney is acknowledged before a notary (§ 751.0021). A Medical Power of Attorney is signed before two qualifying witnesses or a notary, and the Directive to Physicians before two qualifying witnesses (Tex. Health & Safety Code §§ 166.154, 166.032) or a notary. The details for a Will: How a Texas Will Has to Be Signed.

Documents remain available for review in the system after the 30-day revision period, but we do not assure that they will remain available for any set period after that. Keep your printed and signed originals safe.

Can I make changes?

Yes. You have thirty days after preparation to revise each document. The one thing that cannot be changed is the name of the person for whom a document was prepared — a Will prepared for one person cannot be converted into a Will for someone else. If you need a replacement Will after the 30-day window, it is available for the same $125 fee.

How is an attorney involved?

The documents are prepared by a system designed and created by Walter Wm. Hofheinz, Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization (what Board Certified means).

When you pay for documents, you become a client of the Law Office of Walter Wm. Hofheinz for a limited purpose: preparing the documents you selected from the information you provide. The representation begins with your payment and concludes with delivery of the documents to you for printing in the system.

Questions about whether the service is appropriate to your general situation, and about creating your documents within the system, are included in the fee. Individual advice about your planning is a separate service: a $400 planning consultation, in person or remote.

What does the service not include?

• A living trust, marital property agreement, or any tax-driven planning
• Deeds, beneficiary-designation changes, or retitling of accounts
• Court filing fees or probate costs
• An attorney present at your signing (a supervised Will signing in our office is available separately)
• Video or telephone consultations as part of the document fee
• Ongoing review or updates after the thirty-day revision period
• Handwritten (holographic) Wills, or joint Wills made by two people in one document

Some situations need a traditional engagement rather than this service: Who this service is for, and who it is not for.

More questions about the process

Does a lawyer review my documents before they are delivered?

No. The documents are produced by a system Walter Wm. Hofheinz designed and maintains, from the answers you give in the interview; they are not individually reviewed before release. As part of the fee you may ask whether the service fits your situation, and a $400 planning consultation is available if you want individual advice about your plan.

How long does it take?

The document is available immediately when you complete the information entry process. It is not a Will until it is signed with the required formalities: you print it, then arrange to sign it, following the checklist provided with the document.

Can I sign my Will online or by video?

No. A Texas Will must be signed on paper with the witnesses physically present. The Durable Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney and Directive have different signing rules, explained in the checklist that comes with each.

What if I want a lawyer present when I sign?

A supervised Will signing in our office is available. We provide the witnesses and the notary, and copies and scans of the signed documents if you want them. It is a separate engagement.

What if I later need traditional services?

If you later engage Hofheinz Heinen PLLC for traditional services, the amount you paid online is credited toward those fees. Traditional estate planning, probate and trust services are provided by Hofheinz Heinen PLLC at hhtexaslaw.com.

More questions about Wills prepared online, with citations: Wills, Powers of Attorney and Directives in Texas — Questions and Answers. Each document described: Online Client Services. The scope of the engagement, revisions and refunds: Terms of the Online Document Service.

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