What is Estate Planning?

Estate planning is creating a set of legal instructions (a legal rule book) designed to help you set the rules that will govern your future.

A good plan does three things:

1. Controls your property while you are healthy,
2. Protects your assets for you and your loved ones if you become disabled, and 
3. Gives what you want to WHOM you want, WHEN you want, and HOW you want; all while SAVING taxes, administrative costs and other expenses.

The more things we acquire, and the more people who are dependent on us for support, the more complicated life seems to be.  Life is complicated, but planning doesn’t have to be. At Breshears Law we guide our clients through a time-tested and trusted planning process. We make the complex simple by tailoring solutions that meet your needs, right where you are. 

Are You Living A Simpler Life? 

  • Your family life, mix of assets, and needs are genuinely simple
  • You don’t want or need a complex estate planning process  
  • But you don’t want to risk your future on a one-size-fits-all, generic form set that you fill out yourself, knowing that the set is so stripped of specific instructions because it’s got to work for Texans, New Yorkers, and Californians alike  

We have a solution for you.  Your own, personal PlanVault.

PlanVault. online. automated. private. PlanVault.

A secure private client portal containing a menu of simpler solutions every Texan needs, which you can order and pay for online, and receive a full set of estate planning documents you need – prepared for you by our estate planning attorney – all from the comfort of home.

PlanVault is coming in early 2022, because at Breshears Law we believe every Texan needs and deserves sound estate plan documents anyone can trust; documents prepared by an experienced, trusted, estate planning attorney, not by them, their spouse or tech savvy child.

From your PlanVault, you can choose the simple plan documents that fit your needs today:

    1. You’re young, single, an adult, still in school or just finished. No property to speak of yet. Still looking for that special someone to do life with and start a family. Solution: the LockBox. A full set of powers of attorney, giving to the persons you trust the legal authority to manage your property or manage your healthcare, if for any reason you can’t. 
    2. You’re young, married, looking forward to starting a family. You’ve purchased your home and started your career. Solution: a growth plan, HomeSafe.  A simple Last Will and Testament, supported by the complete set of powers of attorney from the LockBox, and more; advanced Directives (sometimes called a “Living Will”), and HIPAA Privacy Authorizations to allow your doctors to communicate with your family.
    3. You’re a bit older and more advanced. You’ve acquired a modest estate – a home, some savings and/or retirement nest egg – but don’t want to waste any money or time settling your estate in the probate courts. You have no children, or your children are grown and gone, stable and healthy, in no obvious need of protection. Solution: avoiding the delay and cost of probate, the StarterVault. A simple and flexible Trust Agreement, supported by all of the legal documents available from the LockBox and HomeSafe. 

Are Your Needs More Complex?

Our tried, true, and more comprehensive planning process is available to anyone who knows their circumstances aren’t entirely simple, and who prefer to meet face to face with an experienced estate planning attorney, to talk through options to properly address each challenge and head off unexpected problems. 
While planning doesn’t need to be complicated to be thorough, you should expect your attorney to clearly explain —
  • all of your planning options,
  • the real costs associated with each one, and
  • the risks you and your family face as you consider an uncertain future and the reality that life will change.

Make no mistake, there are risks in life.  And the consequences increase dramatically if we fail to plan, or fail to plan with the guidance of dedicated estate planning counsel.

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
– Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910), Anna Karenina, Chapter 1, first line

Proper planning can minimize the risk that your beneficiaries will argue among themselves of your property.

Please take a couple of minutes and watch this video, which illustrates the way we think and the way we encourage our clients to consider protecting themselves, their property, and their loved ones.

ESTATE PLANNING IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Ours is a very different kind of law firm. If you Schedule an initial meeting with us, or attend one of our workshops, we believe you will be so glad you did that you will want us to serve your family and friends, too.

To learn more about the most common forms our estate plans take, simply click on each link below:

The following video can help you begin to determine whether you need a Will or a Trust-based estate plan.

WILL OR TRUST? YOU DECIDE