Estate Planning

Decades of Experience, Client-Focused Service

Established in 1973, our Arlington attorneys have been dedicated to providing effective legal solutions and strong client advocacy across multiple practice areas.

Estate Planning Attorney in Arlington, TX

Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, PC is an Arlington estate planning law firm. Our lawyers prepare Texas wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney, and medical directives for families in Arlington, Fort Worth, and across Tarrant County. Most plans take a few weeks from the first meeting to signing. Request a consultation or call (817) 587-6452 to meet with an estate planning attorney at our Arlington office or virtually.

Consider these questions:

When was the last time you updated your will?
Have you considered who would make medical and financial decisions for you if you were suddenly incapacitated?
What if your parents or grandparents could no longer care for themselves and need a guardian?
What if they pass away? What do you need to do as the executor of their will?

If you are the executor of a family member's estate, start with our page on probate in Arlington and Tarrant County. If you are planning for yourself, the sections below cover what goes into a Texas estate plan and how long it takes.

We are here to help you, whether you have learned you are the executor of a family member’s estate or you just want to plan for your own future. Contact us today to learn about how our Arlington estate planning lawyers can help secure your family’s peace of mind and protect your assets.

Where Our Arlington Estate Planning Lawyers Work

Our office is at 601 W Abram Street in Arlington, off I-30 at Cooper and Abram, near the University of Texas at Arlington. It is also within easy reach of the Tarrant County Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth, where the county's probate courts sit.

That matters when you plan. A will for a Tarrant County resident is proved in the county where the person lived (Texas Estates Code 33.001), which for most of our clients means Tarrant County Probate Court No. 1 or No. 2. We draft with that court in mind. A will that authorizes independent administration and is self-proved leaves the executor less to prove and less court supervision to work through. We also meet with clients from Fort Worth and the surrounding communities; see our page on Fort Worth estate planning.

Essentially, a solid estate plan will address the following questions about what you want to happen after you die:

Who do I want my assets to go to when I die, and how much do I want each person to receive?
Who will handle my legal, financial, and medical affairs if I become incapacitated and can’t make decisions for myself?
Who will become the legal guardian for my minor children if I die?
Will I have to pay an inheritance tax if I die, and how much?
Who do I want to be in charge of administering my estate after I die?
What do I want to happen if I become incapacitated and can only survive by being hooked up to life support?
If I die with minor children surviving me and they inherit my estate, who do I want to serve as a trustee to manage the assets for my minor children?
Do I want to leave part of my estate to a charity?

Which Documents go into an Estate Plan?

The documents that typically go into an estate plan include:

A will (also known as a “last will and testament”). A last will and testament names the primary beneficiaries of your estate and contingent beneficiaries if your primary beneficiaries die before you die. It is essential to understand that some assets you own may not be inherited through your will. This is because certain assets already have named beneficiaries and therefore pass outside of the will. These could include life insurance policies, funds in certain retirement accounts, payable-on-death bank accounts, and the property you own as a joint tenant with someone.
A living will or advanced medical directive. This document states your intentions regarding medical care if you become incapacitated and can only survive with the aid of life support. In Texas, this is called a Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates.
A durable power of attorney. This document grants an individual the authority to make decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated. The durable power of attorney essentially authorizes another person to manage your bank accounts and pay bills, among other things.
Life Insurance. Sometimes an estate plan will also include life insurance to ensure your loved ones have enough money to pay bills and funeral costs after you die. Life insurance can always be purchased outside of the estate plan. Many people purchase life insurance when they have children. If you do not already have life insurance, you may want to discuss buying life insurance with an estate planning attorney when creating your other estate planning documents.
Permissions to Social Media and Digital Access. Finally, in the age of social media and online accounts with passwords, your estate planning documents may include instructions about who may obtain access to your social media and other online accounts after your death.

Meet Your Arlington Estate Planning Attorneys

Rigien Jackson, a partner, leads the firm's estate planning and probate practice. She earned her J.D. at Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law, speaks English, Kurdish, German, and Arabic, and is recognized by Super Lawyers. Read Rigien Jackson's bio.

Kris Landrith, Of Counsel, has been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 1972 and earned his J.D. at Baylor University School of Law that year. His practice includes wills, trusts, and probate and estate administration. He is also board-certified in commercial real estate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, which helps when an estate includes land or a commercial property. Read Kris Landrith's bio.

Credentials and Recognition

Serving Arlington and Tarrant County families since 1973.
AV Preeminent rating (4.5 to 5.0) from Martindale-Hubbell, a peer-review rating.
Named to Fort Worth Magazine's Top Attorneys.
Firm attorneys are licensed in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, and Mexico, which helps clients who own property in more than one state.
Our multilingual team speaks five languages, including Spanish. Hablamos español.

Martindale-Hubbell and Super Lawyers ratings reflect the opinions of other lawyers and do not guarantee any result in your matter.

What Clients Say

"Kris L. Landrith has been my attorney since 1989. He has advocated on my behalf with issues in the areas of Commercial Law, Estate, and Probate Law with expertise, diligence, and integrity." RCH

"She is such an honest and compassionate person which is what I respected of her. Thank you for making this process easy." Irma

Read all client reviews.

Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, PC
601 W Abram Street, Arlington, TX 76010
(817) 587-6452

Estate Planning Questions from Arlington Families

Do I Need an Estate Planning Attorney If My Estate Is Small?

Everything you own counts as an estate. If you die without a will and your assets, excluding your homestead and exempt property, are $75,000 or less, your heirs may use a small estate affidavit (Texas Estates Code 205.001), but a judge must approve it and you do not choose who inherits. A will lets you name the beneficiaries and the executor.

How Long Does an Arlington Estate Planning Lawyer Take to Prepare a Will?

Most plans are finished within a few weeks. After the first meeting, drafting takes a couple of weeks, then you review the documents and return to sign them. We give you the originals to keep. A trust takes longer because your assets must be retitled into it.

Does Having a Will Keep My Estate Out of Probate?

No. A will directs where your assets go, but it does not move them. Your estate still goes through probate in a Tarrant County probate court. A living trust can avoid probate for the assets you place in it, as can beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts.

How Do I Choose an Estate Planning Lawyer in Arlington?

Ask whether the same firm handles probate in Tarrant County. The attorney who drafts your will should know how the probate court reads it later. Our attorneys handle both, including probate cases where a will had to be proved and title cleared before a home could be sold.

Can I Meet with an Estate Planning Attorney Virtually?

Yes. You can meet with us in person at our Arlington office at 601 W Abram Street or virtually. Bring a list of what you own, who depends on you, and who you would name as executor and as guardian for minor children.

Don’t leave your legacy to chance. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and discover how our Arlington estate planning attorneys can help you secure your future and that of your loved ones.

Our Services

Tailored Legal Solutions for Every Client

When is it a Good Time to Have Estate Plan Documents in Place?

Generally, anyone who owns anything of value or has children should have an estate plan in place. Persons with high-value estates should have an estate plan in place, regardless of their age. Even if you are young with relatively few assets, an estate plan is valuable so that you can explicitly designate what you want to happen to your assets if you die.

It is especially important for married people and people with children to have an estate plan. Nowadays, many people are entering second marriages. Often, they have children from a prior marriage. It’s important to make sure you and your spouse agree and are clear about where you want your assets to go after a spouse dies. You want to make sure your estate plan protects your children from a previous marriage. A good estate plan is essential to ensure your assets will go where you want them to go after your death, and it may prevent family strife and lawsuits over inheritances. It is also important to nominate a guardian for your children.

How Long Does it Take to Create an Estate Plan?

Creating an estate plan is a relatively simple and quick process. Most people can have an estate plan set up within a few weeks. If you’re working with an estate planning attorney, the first step is to have an initial meeting with the attorney. During this meeting, you’ll discuss the assets you own, your family situation (whether you’re married and have children), and where you want your assets to go upon your death.

You’ll also talk to the attorney about what you want to happen if you become incapacitated:

Do you want someone appointed as power of attorney to make decisions on your behalf?
What happens if you suffer a catastrophic injury and you’re in the hospital?
Do you want to remain on life sustaining treatment (life-support) if you suffer a terminal or irreversible condition?
If you die with minor children, who do you want to serve as guardian for your children?
Who do you want to administer your estate immediately after your death during the court probate process?

After your initial consultation, it may take only a couple of weeks for your attorney to draft your estate planning documents. You’ll then review them and meet with the attorney again to sign the documents. After that, the attorney will give you originals to keep.

If you are setting up a trust, the estate planning process will likely take longer. In that case, your attorney will make sure the required documents are in place and that your assets have been moved into the trust.

When Do I Need a Trust Versus When Do I Need a Will?

If you die with a will in place, your estate will go through the probate process in a local probate court. A will is a document that simply directs where you want your assets to go when you die. Executing a will doesn’t move your assets anywhere.

Trusts can serve many different purposes. For estate planning, a trust can be used to reduce estate tax liability, protect property in your estate, and avoid probate. Texas law recognizes various types of trusts related to estate planning, including:

Revocable living trusts
Crummey Trusts
Spendthrift Trusts
Qualified Income Trusts (QIT)
Medicaid-Qualifying Trusts
Irrevocable life insurance trusts

An experienced estate planning attorney will know whether one of these types of trusts is appropriate for your situation. For example, suppose you have a large estate. You want your children to inherit from your estate, but you do not want them to access the money all at once. You don’t want them to fritter away their money by going out and buying a Porsche. In this case, you may want to have a so-called spendthrift trust, which doles out portions of their inheritance over a span of years. This is just one example of how setting up a trust can further your intentions for what happens to your estate after you die.

Most people have straightforward finances and don’t need to put their assets into a trust. Individuals with high net worth or complex finances, such as having assets in a business structure, often benefit from putting their assets into a trust. An experienced estate planning attorney can advise you on whether having a will is sufficient to protect your assets or whether it may be beneficial to move all or part of your estate into a trust.

Do I Need an Estate Planning Lawyer, or Can I Use an Online Template?

A template can work for a very simple estate, but it cannot tell you what else will override it. Life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death bank accounts, and property owned as joint tenants pass to the named beneficiary or co-owner regardless of what your will says. An estate planning attorney checks those designations against your will and decides with you whether a trust is worth the added step of retitling your assets.

Most people with straightforward finances do not need a trust, and an attorney should tell you so. A will, a durable power of attorney, and a medical directive cover most of those cases.

Request A Consultation

How Can an Estate Planning Attorney Help Me?

Even with a will, the probate process is often complicated. This process pays off a person’s debts using assets from the estate, then distributes any money or items left according to the will or state law. Unless there is a trust in place to ensure friends and family members receive access to the assets they inherit, probate court proceedings, which can take months, are necessary.

On the surface, this process seems simple, but there are a number of state laws directing how you must navigate these procedures. For this reason, you should consider discussing your situation with a probate attorney before beginning these proceedings. This is the best way to ensure the distribution of assets goes according to your loved one’s wishes.

How to Get Started

It is always a good idea to hire an attorney to help you with your estate plan.

Templates you can find online do not always address Texas-specific laws that may affect your estate plan. An experienced estate planning attorney in Texas will have professional knowledge and experience with estate planning specific to Texas.

The attorneys at Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, PC have many years of estate planning in Texas. We guide our clients through every step of the process as we create an estate plan catered specifically to your needs.

Contact Our Estate Planning Attorneys Today

You can reach the estate planning attorneys at Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, PC by calling our Arlington-area office today. Schedule a time to talk with us about your estate planning needs or questions about the probate process.

Client-Focused and Responsive Representation

At Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, PC, we prioritize clear and consistent communication. Our attorneys are committed to promptly returning calls and emails, keeping you informed at every step of your case.
Experienced Legal Advocacy Across Multiple Practice Areas
With 60+ years of experience, we provide top-tier representation in immigration, family law, personal injury, real estate, estate planning, and business law.
A Dedicated Team Ready to Fight for You
When legal issues arise, you need a team that acts fast. Our team gets to work immediately, using our expertise to protect your best interests and pursue the best possible outcome.
A Proven Track Record of Success

Our firm’s long history of service to Texans speaks for itself. Clients trust us for dedicated advocacy, personalized service, and strong results—time and time again.

What Our Clients Say

Real Stories of Success and Trusted Representation

"I am beyond grateful."
I went in so lost and confused but she was literally only one phone call away with every step of the way to help me. She is such an honest and compassionate person which is what I respected of her. Thank you for making this process easy.

- Irma
"I would recommend Mr. Landrith without hesitation."
Mr. Landrith spent a great deal of effort investigating and researching solutions. He was successful in proving the will, handled the title work and we obtained a clear title allowing the sale of her home.

- Pat F.
"Expertise, diligence, and integrity."
Kris L. Landrith has been my attorney since 1989. He has advocated on my behalf with issues in the areas of Commercial Law, Estate, and Probate Law with expertise, diligence, and integrity. Kris provided me with information and transparency in all matters transacted. Additionally, his office staff is efficient, respectful, and kind.

- RCH
"Excellent attorney."
This was such an easy process, that I would highly recommend her to all my friends. In fact, I have given her card to several already.

- Joan

View All Reviews

Recognized for Excellence

Accolades for Client Service

We have the highest accolades for ethical standings, have earned the AV Preeminent recognition from Martindale-Hubbell, and David Kulesz has been recognized by Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters rating service, since 2005. However, our customer-focused approach transcends the board-certified lawyers at our firm.