Who is this online Will service for?

It is designed for Texas residents with straightforward circumstances: a first marriage or a single person, children who are all from that marriage, assets consisting mainly of a home, bank accounts, personal property and retirement accounts, and no estate tax exposure. If your situation is more involved, a traditional engagement is the better route.

Does it fit you?

The Will prepared here suits these plans:

• All to your spouse, then to up to five children in equal shares if there is no spouse
• All to your spouse, then to up to nine designated beneficiaries if there is no spouse
• All to up to five children
• All to up to nine designated beneficiaries

Within any of them you may make specific gifts to up to eight beneficiaries or classes of beneficiaries. The Will names an Independent Executor, with a first, second and third choice; lets you name guardians for minor children; and holds property in a protective trust for beneficiaries under age 30 or unable to manage their own affairs. What each document covers: Online Client Services.

Who should not use it?

You should not use this service if any of the following apply:

• You have children from a prior relationship, or your spouse does, whom you wish to treat as your own children
• You own a business, a professional practice, or a management interest in a partnership or LLC
• You have a beneficiary with a disability who receives or may need public benefits
• A beneficiary needs to receive assets protected from the claims of creditors, or has other long-term management needs, such as an elderly parent or a child with special needs
• You are in the middle of a divorce
• Your estate may be subject to federal estate tax, or you want estate or generation-skipping transfer tax planning
• You want a living trust, or you want to avoid probate
• A family dispute is already brewing, or someone is likely to contest your Will
• You have questions about your capacity to sign, or are being pressured about your Will
• You have more than five children
• You have no children but are expecting a child, and wish to provide for that child
• You want to make specific gifts to more than eight beneficiaries, either groups or individuals
• You need a special or limited power of attorney; only a general Durable Power of Attorney is offered

A Texas Will is effective to dispose of property wherever it is owned, but if you own real property outside Texas, additional planning may minimize expense and inconvenience to your beneficiaries.

What should you do instead?

• A traditional engagement. Traditional estate planning, probate and trust services are provided by Hofheinz Heinen PLLC at hhtexaslaw.com.
• A planning consultation. A $400 planning consultation, in person or remote, to fully explore what you own, what you owe, and what your dispositive desires are, including review of your current documents, leading to our recommendations for further work.
• The lawyer of your choice. If in doubt about whether the service suits you, you should also consult another lawyer.

If you prepare documents here and later engage Hofheinz Heinen PLLC for traditional services, the amount you paid online is credited toward those fees.

Not sure which applies? Questions about whether the service is appropriate to your general situation are included in the document fee. Email wwh@hofheinzlaw.com or call 214.363.2400.

Questions about fit

Can my spouse and I make one Will together?

No. Each Will is made by one person. Joint Wills, one Will made by two or more people, are a bad idea for a number of reasons and cannot be prepared here. Each spouse may prepare a separate Will.

Why is there no living trust?

There is no revocable trust in this service. Popular press to the contrary, they are difficult to fund and maintain properly, and a trust that is not funded does nothing. If you want one, that is a traditional engagement.

Can I use this Will as a stop-gap while a fuller plan is prepared?

The Will is not generally appropriate for complex planning situations, although it may be useful as a stop-gap.

Are same-sex marriages supported?

Yes. Other non-traditional relationships may need planning beyond what this Will provides.

Does a lawyer check whether the service fits me?

Only if you ask. The documents are produced by a system designed by Walter Wm. Hofheinz from your answers and are not individually reviewed before release. You may ask, as part of the fee, whether the service fits your situation.

More on who this service is for, with citations: Wills, Powers of Attorney and Directives in Texas — Questions and Answers. How the service works: How the online document service works.

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