Wills in Texas don’t “go bad” over time. Our law office has handled probate cases for wills that are over fifty years old–and they were totally legally valid. However, even though your last will and testament may not be invalid due to the passage of time, changes in your own circumstances may create a need to update your will.
You’ve made great strides in getting yourself and your estate prepared for the future; but don’t let time make you forget about all the hard work you’ve done! Periodically revisiting your legal documents helps them effectively reflect your wishes. Over time, it is possible that some of these wishes have changed.
This article shares the common situations in which you should update your will in Texas.
Top 4 Reasons To Update Your Last Will and Testament in Texas:
- Family changes: If your family has changed, it’s best to update your Will. For example, have you gotten married? Have you divorced? Have you had more children since your last Will? Have any of the people you named as beneficiary or as executor passed away? Are your kids no longer minors? Do you have grandchildren now? You may want to change your primary beneficiary or add another. You might also want to remove someone as your beneficiary as dynamics within the family change.
- Life changes: Sometimes clients’ wishes change for personal reasons. Our relationships with friends and family change over time. After forgetting to update a Will for years, a client is often surprised at who would be inheriting under her Will… “My Will says she gets half of my property? I haven’t even talked with her in years!” So, you’ll definitely want to update your Texas last will and testament to make sure the will still accurately reflects your wishes (it is called “your will” after all!).
- Assets change: You may have started with a basic Will when you were just getting started in life. Now, years later, you have retirement savings, a larger house, larger bank accounts, and so forth. If your assets have increased or changed since the last time you made your will, that basic Will may fail to take advantage of provisions your attorney can add to your Will to save your family both money and hassle. In fact, if you haven’t met with your estate planning attorney in a while, your attorney may even suggest upgrading to a Texas Revocable Living Trust.
- Laws change: Texas lawmakers and the federal government constantly change the laws dealing with wills provisions, probate, Texas inheritance, and federal estate tax (“death tax”). Sometimes, changes in the law could actually benefit your family after your passing… if your wills attorney takes advantage of these legal changes in your Will. In other words, if you want to take advantage of favorable changes in the laws, you’ll want to have your estate planning attorney update your last will and testament.
Free Consultation And FREE Will Review
The Texas Wills Attorneys at Shutt Law Firm PLLC offer free Will reviews to Texas residents, even if they’re not previous clients. There’s no obligation. Just provide our estate planning attorneys with a copy of your existing Texas Will, we will review the Will for free, and then get back with you about potential changes you want to make.
To ask a legal question or get legal help from a wills attorney in the Dallas, Texas area, use the online contact form to the right or call (214) 302-8197. If you prefer to meet at the estate planning law office in Richardson, TX– our wills attorneys offers a free consultation.
Visit www.ShuttLawFirm.com for more information about Texas Wills, what happens if you die without a Will in Texas, how to change your will in Texas legally, or any other Texas Estate Planning question, contact Richardson, Texas Wills & Probate Attorneys by following this link.
Shutt Law Firm’s estate planning office is conveniently located just north of Dallas, TX and just South of Plano, TX. The law office is near the intersection of highway 75 and Arapaho Road in Richardson, TX.
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You can also call the Texas estate planning office at (214) 302-8197 for more information on the topic discussed in this article or to discuss a different legal matter. Please consider the Shutt Law Firm if you need to update your Texas Last Will and Testament, change from a will to a living trust, how to probate in Dallas County Probate Courts or the Collin County Probate Court, a Texas Last Will and Testament, or you need Dallas Probate Attorneys serving Richardson, Plano, Allen, McKinney, Frisco, Mesquite, Garland, Addison, Collin County, TX, or surrounding North Texas area.
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this brief article constitutes legal advice. The information provided herein is merely provided in the spirit of education. If you have a legal question, you should consult an attorney for your specific legal situation. Further, nothing in this article shall be construed to have started an attorney-client relationship. No such relationship exists until both you and one of our Richardson, TX, estate planning attorneys signs an engagement letter.
By Isaac Shutt