It’s true that Texas doesn’t levy an estate tax on its citizens, and most individuals will not meet the high valuation requirements for the federal estate tax. This doesn’t mean, however, that you should ignore the estate planning process. Asset protection can help your heirs avoid other taxes and can also protect your wealth from creditors or others.
Some other reason to draft wills and other estate documents include ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes, helping your heirs avoid costly and tedious probate battles, and ensuring your end-of-life decisions are carried out properly. End-of-life decisions you might want to include in estate documents can range from personal wishes about your own medical treatment to information about your funeral arrangements.
Certainly, these are not pleasant things for anyone to consider during their life, but starting earlier helps to ensure optimal protection. If you wait until later, you may not be capable of making all these decisions for your estate documents, in which case they could fall to your family or even the state.
Some documents to consider are tax-planned wills, durable power of attorneys, trusts, health care directives, family limited partnerships, and business succession plans. You’ll also want to consider integrating retirement plans into your estate and handling business transactions as needed.
It sounds like a complicated process, and it can be. But estate planning is not only for the wealthy, which is why we offer a variety of estate and tax planning services. We help you protect your assets for later in life or for use by future generations so you don’t have to worry about taxation or other matters.