Estate Planning & Texas Probate Administration
Purposeful Legacy Protection. Compassionate Estate Administration.
A well-crafted estate plan is one of the greatest gifts you can provide your family. It replaces uncertainty with clarity, prevents costly courtroom disputes, and ensures the land, business, and assets you have accumulated are passed down according to your exact wishes.
Over more than 35 years practicing law in Central Texas, I have guided generations of families through both sides of this journey: structuring thoughtful, comprehensive plans during life, and navigating the Texas probate process with steady hands after the loss of a loved one. Whether your priority is passing down family acreage, protecting a surviving spouse, or administering an existing estate, our firm provides the disciplined legal strategy and personal attention your legacy deserves.
📑 Comprehensive Estate Planning & Will Design
True estate planning goes far beyond filling in names on an online template. Effective planning accounts for complex family dynamics, separate versus community property characterization, and the specific nuances of Texas law. We design tailored estate packages that provide complete legal protection:
Last Will and Testament: Custom-drafted wills that clearly articulate your wishes, nominate trusted independent executors, establish testamentary trusts for minor children or grandchildren, and eliminate ambiguities that lead to family conflict.
Statutory Durable Powers of Attorney: Naming trusted fiduciaries with comprehensive, explicit financial authority to manage property, run businesses, and handle critical banking matters if you are temporarily or permanently incapacitated.
Medical Powers of Attorney & Directives to Physicians: Providing legally binding healthcare directives and living wills to ensure your medical wishes are honored without placing painful emotional burdens on your family during a crisis.
Disposition of Remains & HIPAA Authorizations: Essential documentation ensuring your designated loved ones have immediate access to medical information and the authority to carry out your end-of-life wishes without delay.
🏛️ Strategic Trusts & Probate Avoidance
While Texas probate is often more straightforward than in other states, avoiding court intervention entirely is often the cleanest, most private way to pass down wealth:
Revocable Living Trusts: Providing seamless, private asset management during your life and allowing immediate, court-free distribution of your estate upon your death.
Lady Bird Deeds & Real Estate Transfer on Death Deeds: Retain absolute control, ownership, and the right to sell or mortgage your Texas home or rural land during your lifetime, while transferring title automatically to your designated beneficiaries at death—completely bypassing probate.
Beneficiary Designations & Survivorship Agreements: Reviewing and coordinating bank accounts, investment portfolios, and real property deeds to ensure non-probate beneficiary designations match your overarching testamentary plan.
⚖️ Guiding Families Through Texas Probate
Losing a loved one is emotionally exhausting. Administering their estate through the court system should not add to that burden. Our office provides step-by-step guidance through Texas probate proceedings, protecting executors from personal liability while efficiently settling the estate:
Independent Administration: Taking full advantage of Texas’s streamlined independent administration process to validate wills, obtain Letters Testamentary, and settle affairs with minimal court supervision.
Muniment of Title: A cost-effective, expedited Texas probate option when the deceased left a valid Will, had no outstanding unsecured debts, and the only required action is transferring title to real estate or financial accounts.
Intestate Estate Administration & Heirship Determinations: When a loved one passes without a valid Will, we guide families through formal statutory heirship proceedings to clear title to family land, identify lawful heirs, and appoint an administrator.
Small Estate Affidavits & Informal Settlement: Utilizing statutory alternatives to formal probate when the estate qualifies under Texas asset thresholds, saving the family significant time and court expense.
Protecting What Matters Most to Your Family
Every family has a unique story, property landscape, and set of goals. I take the time to sit down with you, listen closely, and explain your options in straightforward, plain English—never burying you in legal jargon.
Whether you need to draft your first estate plan, update an existing Will after major life changes, or settle the estate of a family member, my door in Burnet is open.
Law Office of Tommy Adams
Burnet, Texas 78611
(Catty-corner to the Burnet County Courthouse)
Phone: (325) 643-9888