What do the documents say?

Below are short excerpts from each document the service prepares: the Will and its self-proving affidavit, the Durable Power of Attorney for property, the Medical Power of Attorney with its HIPAA authorization, and the Directive to Physicians. Words in brackets, such as [Your name], stand where your own answers appear. Each document is longer than its excerpt.

The Will

The opening paragraph:

I, [Your name], of the County of [County] of the State of Texas, being in good health, and of sound and disposing mind and memory, make this Last Will and Testament and revoke all prior Wills made by me.

Naming the Independent Executor, who administers the estate without court supervision or bond:

I hereby constitute and appoint [Executor] as Independent Executor, [First successor] as First Successor Independent Executor, and [Second successor] as Second Successor Independent Executor of my estate. …

My Independent Executor shall not be required to furnish any bond of any kind and no action shall be had in any court in the administration of my estate other than the probating of this Last Will and Testament and the filing of any inventory, appraisement, and list of claims due my estate that may be required.

The protective trust, for a beneficiary under 30 or unable to manage his or her own affairs:

In the event that any devisee or beneficiary under this Will who is a natural person has not reached the age of thirty at the time of my death or is so severely mentally or physically disabled that the beneficiary is unable to be financially responsible for his or her own affairs, then I give, devise and bequeath the share of that beneficiary to my Protective Trustee in trust for the following uses and purposes, and to be divided, administered and disposed of as follows: …

When a beneficiary reaches the age of thirty years, the Trustee shall distribute to that beneficiary all of the property constituting his or her trust, unless the beneficiary is so severely mentally or physically disabled that the beneficiary is unable to be financially responsible for his or her own affairs, in which event that beneficiary's trust shall terminate when he recovers or dies.

The witnesses' attestation, which follows your signature:

The foregoing instrument was, on [date], made and published as the Last Will and Testament of [Your name] and was signed and subscribed by the Testator in our presence, and each of us, being credible and over the age of fourteen years, in the presence of each other, sign and subscribe our names as attesting witnesses.

What varies with your answers: your name and county; your marital status and your spouse's name; your children, up to five, with their dates of birth; any specific gifts, to up to eight beneficiaries or classes of beneficiaries; who receives the rest of your estate, and who takes if none of them survives you; your overall dispositive plan; your Independent Executor and up to two successors; the trustee of the protective trust; and guardians for minor children.

The self-proving affidavit

Signed by you and your witnesses before a notary at the same signing, it lets the Will be admitted to probate without the witnesses having to testify later (Tex. Est. Code §§ 251.101, 251.104). The documents use a traditional self-proving affidavit, not the combined form.

BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared [Your name], [Witness] and [Witness], known to me to be the Testator and the witnesses respectively, whose names are subscribed to the annexed or foregoing instrument in their respective capacities, and, all of said persons being by me duly sworn, the said [Your name], Testator, declared to me and to the said witnesses in my presence that said instrument is [his or her] Last Will and Testament, and that [he or she] had willingly made and executed it as [his or her] free act and deed for the purposes therein expressed; … and that each of said witnesses was then at least 14 years of age.

What varies: your name, the county where you sign, and the pronouns. The witnesses' names and the date are filled in at the signing.

The Durable Power of Attorney for property

A general power, using the categories of Chapter 752 of the Texas Estates Code, signed before a notary:

I, [Your name], of the County of [County], State of Texas, hereby constitute and appoint [Agent] the lawful attorney for me in my name, place, and stead to do anything for me including but not limited to the power to buy, sell, or partition any of my property, both real and personal, whether surface or mineral interests or both; to make gifts on my behalf of any size; to borrow and pledge; … giving and granting unto my attorney full power and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing that I might or could do if I were personally present …

This power of attorney shall not terminate on or be affected by my disability or incapacity and the powers granted my attorney by this document shall be exercisable even if I become disabled or incompetent.

What varies: your name and county, your agent, an alternate agent if you name one, and the county where you sign before the notary.

The Medical Power of Attorney and HIPAA authorization

The statutory form (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 166.164), preceded by a HIPAA authorization covering your agent and alternates. The authorization begins:

My health care agent and alternate agents named in the following Medical Power of Attorney and Designation of Health Care Agent shall have access to any and all protected health information from any and all covered entities pursuant to 45 C.F.R. 160-164 Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA). …

The appointment:

I, [Your name], appoint: [Agent's name, address and telephone] as my agent to make any and all health care decisions for me, except to the extent I state otherwise in this document. This medical power of attorney takes effect if I become unable to make my own health care decisions and this fact is certified in writing by my physician.

What varies: your name; your agent and up to two alternate agents, who serve in the order named, each with an address and telephone number. You sign before a notary or before two qualifying witnesses; the form has spaces for either.

The Directive to Physicians

The statutory form (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 166.033):

I, [Your name], recognize that the best health care is based upon a partnership of trust and communication with my physician. My physician and I will make health care decisions together as long as I am of sound mind and able to make my wishes known. If there comes a time that I am unable to make medical decisions about myself because of illness or injury, I direct that the following treatment preferences be honored: …

What varies: your name, city and county of residence. Your treatment choices for a terminal or an irreversible condition are marked by your initials on the printed form, as the signing instructions describe.

Questions about the documents

Can I see my whole document before I sign it?

Yes. You review each document in full before you print it, and you have thirty days after preparation to revise it. The name of the person for whom a document was prepared cannot be changed.

Is the Medical Power of Attorney the Texas statutory form?

Yes. The Medical Power of Attorney prepared here prepends to the prescribed statutory form a HIPAA authorization that allows all designees to receive medical information from health care providers even while not actively serving.

Does every Will include the protective trust?

The protective trust provisions are part of the Will. They hold a beneficiary's share in trust only if that beneficiary is under 30, or unable to manage his or her own affairs, at the time of your death.

Are these excerpts a substitute for the full documents?

No. They show the style and substance of the documents. Your own documents are built from your answers and contain provisions not shown here.

What each document does, with citations: Wills, Powers of Attorney and Directives in Texas — Questions and Answers. Each document described: Online Client Services.

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