Will Attorney in Arlington

60+ Years Serving Arlington Families with Estate Planning That Fits Real Life

Most people who don’t have a will aren’t avoiding it out of indifference. They’re avoiding the conversation they imagine having with an attorney, the uncertainty about cost, and the fear of not understanding what they’re signing. At Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz, we’ve been having that conversation with Arlington and Tarrant County families since 1973. The process is more straightforward than most people expect, and we make sure you understand every step before anything is finalized.

Our attorneys carry over 100 years of combined legal experience and hold an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-review designation in the legal profession. David Kulesz has been recognized by Super Lawyers every year since 2005, and Rigien Jackson is also recognized by Super Lawyers. Fort Worth Magazine has named our attorneys to its Top Attorneys list. We communicate in five languages, so Arlington’s diverse families can discuss something this personal in the language they’re most comfortable with. When you reach out, you can hear back promptly and know where things stand.

Call Jackson, Landrith & Kulesz at (817) 587-6452 or connect with us online to schedule a consultation with an Arlington will attorney.

Why Every Texas Adult Needs a Valid Will

A will is the document that lets you decide who inherits your property, who raises your children, and who manages the process of settling your estate. Without one, Texas intestacy laws make those decisions for you, distributing assets along a fixed line of heirs that may not reflect your wishes. A surviving spouse, a sibling, or even a more distant relative could inherit property you intended for someone else entirely. The state doesn’t leave assets unclaimed. It applies a statutory formula regardless of your relationships.

Protecting Minor Children

For parents of minor children, the stakes are higher. Without a named guardian in your will, a Tarrant County probate court appoints one. That court will act in the child’s best interest as it understands it, but the person appointed may not be who you would have chosen. A valid will can reduce that uncertainty.

Types of Wills We Prepare

There are two primary will types we prepare for clients:

• Simple Will: A straightforward document naming an executor to manage your estate through probate, designating who inherits your assets, and naming a guardian for minor children. Suited to estates without complex holdings.
• Testamentary Trust: A provision within the will that directs some or all of your estate into a trust at death, managed by a named trustee for a beneficiary such as a child or a person with a disability. This structure can give you more control over how and when assets are distributed.

Questions to Consider Before Your Consultation

Before your consultation, it helps to think through these questions:

• Who should inherit your home, savings, and personal property, and are you comfortable with Texas intestacy laws deciding that instead?
• Who will care for your minor children if you and your spouse both pass, and do you want to name that person yourself rather than leaving it to a Tarrant County court?
• Who will manage the estate process, gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains? Have you spoken with that person about the responsibility?
• Do you own a business interest, rental property, or out-of-state assets that may need planning beyond a basic will?
• How does your will coordinate with beneficiary designations on life insurance, retirement accounts, and payable-on-death bank accounts?

Texas community property rules affect how assets are classified and what your will actually controls. Nonprobate transfers, including life insurance and retirement accounts, pass outside the will entirely. A will attorney can map your specific situation and help the documents you sign reflect what you intend. For Arlington and Tarrant County families, that conversation often includes how your estate would move through local probate courts and what you can do now to make that process simpler for the people you leave behind.

What a Will Cannot Do

Understanding a will’s limits is just as important as knowing what it covers. One of the most common points of confusion is the difference between a last will and testament and a Texas Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates, sometimes called a living will. These are distinct documents: the directive governs medical decisions when you can’t make them yourself; the last will and testament governs asset distribution after death. Having one doesn’t substitute for the other.

Another misconception worth clearing up: dying without a will in Texas doesn’t mean your assets go to the state. Texas intestacy statutes follow a defined order of heirs, and assets pass to relatives even without a will. The problem isn’t losing assets to the government. It’s losing control over who gets them and when.

A Texas will does not:

• Help your loved ones avoid probate. Assets covered by the will must pass through the Tarrant County probate court process.
• Override beneficiary designations. IRAs, 401(k) plans, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death bank accounts transfer directly to named beneficiaries regardless of what the will says.
• Control assets held in a living trust. Those assets are governed by the trust document.
• Provide for the long-term care of a dependent, except through a testamentary trust provision that creates ongoing management at death.
• Leave money directly to a pet. You can, however, leave your pet to a named caretaker and direct funds to that person for the animal’s care.
• Authorize any illegal purpose or distribution.

Funeral and burial instructions are best placed in a separate document. Wills are typically not read until weeks after services are held, so instructions left only in the will often arrive too late to matter. A will attorney can help you identify which additional documents, including powers of attorney, advance directives, and trusts, cover what the will cannot.