Most people who put off estate planning are not avoiding the paperwork. They are avoiding the questions. Who would raise the kids? Which child should be in charge? Whether it is fair to leave the house to one person and not another.
You do not have to arrive with the answers. You only have to arrive having started to think. Families who spend twenty minutes with the questions below get more out of a first meeting, because the time goes toward solutions instead of gathering facts.
Treat what follows as an estate planning worksheet. Write your answers down, even the messy ones. “I don’t know” is a real answer and a useful one.
1. If something happened to both parents, who raises your children?
If you have minor children and no named guardian, a Texas court decides from among the people who step forward. The court does its best with limited information. You have better information. Name a first choice and a backup, and consider whether the person you would trust with your children is the same one you would trust with money on their behalf. Those can be two different jobs.
2. Who manages money for someone who isn’t ready for it?
An eighteen-year-old receiving a lump sum is a common result of an incomplete plan, and rarely the intended one. The same concern applies to an adult child in a divorce, or a relative whose benefits depend on their resources. Think about who is steady and willing, and at what ages you would want money released rather than handed over at once.
3. If you couldn’t speak for yourself, who speaks for you?
A medical power of attorney names who can make health care decisions when you cannot. Without one, your family may have to ask a court for that authority during the exact week they can least afford a delay. Ask who stays calm under pressure and who actually knows what you would want. That is not always your closest relative.
4. Who pays the bills if you’re unable to?
Mortgage payments, insurance premiums, property taxes, and business payroll do not pause during a hospital stay. A financial power of attorney lets someone you choose step in and keep things running. It is the document families most often wish they had signed six months earlier.
5. What do you own, and how is each piece titled?
A will does not control everything. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, regardless of what your will says. Jointly titled property may pass automatically to the co-owner. And because Texas is a community property state, how property was acquired during a marriage affects how it can be left.
List your real estate, accounts, retirement plans, insurance, business interests, and vehicles, and note whose name is on each. If that list makes you want to keep things out of court, say so early. The choice between a will and a trust depends on what you own.
6. Who should be in charge, and can they carry it?
Naming an executor is often treated as an honor given to the oldest child. It is closer to a part-time administrative job that arrives during grief and can last a year, with deadlines, court filings, and siblings asking questions. Ask honestly whether your first choice is organized, available, and able to stay neutral, then name a second.
7. Is there anything here that could turn into a family fight?
Conflict rarely comes from the size of an estate. It comes from surprise. A blended family where a spouse and children from a first marriage hold different expectations. One child who has been caregiving and one who has not. You do not need to resolve these beforehand. Naming them lets the plan address them directly. We protect families, not just assets, and this is usually where that work happens.
8. What matters to you that has nothing to do with money?
Burial preferences. What happens to the pets. Who receives the things that carry meaning rather than value. Access to email, photos, and passwords. A letter explaining why the plan looks the way it does. These rarely appear on a legal checklist, and they are often what families are most grateful for.
What Happens After You Answer These
Your answers point toward the documents you are likely to need, which for many Texas families include a will or trust, a medical power of attorney, a financial power of attorney, and an advance directive. You can see how these fit together on our estate planning page. On taxes: Texas imposes no state estate or inheritance tax, and whether federal rules apply depends on your estate.
Key Takeaways
- You do not need finished answers before a first meeting, only a starting point.
- Guardianship and decision-making authority often matter more urgently than distribution.
- A will does not control beneficiary designations or jointly titled property, so titling matters.
- Serving as executor is real work, and the best-suited person is not always the obvious one.
- Naming likely sources of family conflict early lets the plan address them.
- Non-financial wishes are often what families appreciate most.
Start the Conversation With Bromlow Law, PLLC
Working through an estate planning worksheet like this one is not about getting it right on the first pass. It is about walking in with your thinking already underway.
At Bromlow Law, PLLC, we listen first. Laura L. Bromlow is a Certified Elder Law Attorney, and we work to understand your family before recommending anything. If some of these questions left you unsure, that is a normal place to start. You are not alone in this. Bring the blanks with you. Book your discovery call to learn more.
References: Montrose Press (July 7, 2019) “Estate plans can help you answer questions about the future” · mondaq (Dec. 18, 2023) “Four Questions To Ask Your Estate Planning Attorney”
