4 Best Estate Planning Law Firms in Austin, TX, Compared
You may have decided to write your will, but what about who will step in for you if you become incapacitated or who will take over your estate if you pass away.
If your family needs to talk about several connected estate-planning needs, including wills, trusts, incapacity and possibly long term care, Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC should be your first stop in this article. The other firms emphasize different needs, including special needs planning, trust administration and estate disputes.
In This Guide
- Things to consider before you choose a Law Firm
- Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC
- Nielsen Law
- Karisch Jonas Law, PLLC
- Flaherty Jones Thompson PLLC
- Comparison of the 4 firms
- What you should ask before hiring
- Final recommendation
Things To Consider Before Choosing An Estate Planning Attorney
What do you need done? Are you parents with small children, elderly or the trustee of an estate? There are many factors that can dictate the type of attorney you should work with.
Here are some general areas you may need help with:
- Estate Planning: Your will, trusts, making sure your beneficiary information is correct and creating documents to direct your future decisions.
- Planning For Incapacity: Creating financial and medical power of attorney, medical directives and possibly guardianship.
- Planning For Care: Talking about long term care and if Medicaid is something your family should look into.
- Administering An Estate: Whether that is going through probate, working as a trustee or there is already an issue with an estate.
All of these firms can help with some or all of these issues.
1. Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC
Best if: You are looking for an attorney that can talk about estate planning, probate, guardianship and possible long-term care concerns.
Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC can help you with wills, living trusts, power of attorney, advance health care directive, probate, guardianship and Medicaid planning. They have an office in Austin, TX located at 13740 Research Boulevard, Suite V4 and in San Antonio, TX.
This is helpful if you want to talk about who should be the guardian of your children, you have an elderly loved one that needs assistance with their finances or your family may need long term care.
What Makes Them Different
They outline what they will do to help your family plan for the future on their website. From talking about your goals to preparing, reviewing and executing documents.
They also offer:
- Help with wills, trusts, probate, guardianship and advance health care planning
- Information about Medicaid planning
- Simple guidance and a large, freely accessible library of Texas estate planning articles on the firm’s website.
- Offices in Austin and San Antonio, TX
According to the State Bar of Texas, Attorney Pamela Hailey-Petty is able to practice law in the state of Texas. The attorney also has reviews from clients on Avvo.
They are open Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm in Austin, TX.
If you want to speak with an attorney that can help you plan for estate planning and related long-term care considerations, a reasonable first conversation is with Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC.
2. Nielsen Law
Best if: You have a family member that may receive an inheritance and want to plan around that.
If you have a loved one that is disabled, receiving money could affect their benefits. Nielsen Law offers special needs planning for families facing that question with this problem. They also offer wills, revocable living trusts, estate administration, guardianship, financial and medical power of attorney in Austin, TX.
Why Should I Choose Nielsen Law? They can help you with special needs trusts along with your other estate planning needs. On their website they state that Liz Nielsen is board certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Other reasons to consider Nielsen Law are:
- Help with special needs and trusts
- Administering an estate or trust
- They want to learn about your family and create a relationship with you
If you have a loved one that is receiving benefits, you may want to ask how they would work with your trust and who would be the trustee.
3. Karisch Jonas Law, PLLC
Best if: You need help with administering your trust.
While Karisch Jonas Law, PLLC does offer estate planning and probate, they spend more time on their website discussing trust administration, problems with trusts and estates and changing/terminating trusts when allowed under Texas law.
The firm may be worth comparing if a trustee or beneficiary needs assistance with administration or a dispute.
What makes them different? They can help you after your estate plan is in place.
They will help you:
- As an individual or business trustee
- If you are having an issue with your trust
- Discuss options to modify or terminate a problem trust when permitted under Texas law
- With probate and mediating estate/trust issues
They also talk about what the trustee needs to do with investments and report to beneficiaries. If you are a trustee or successor trustee, you may want to look into working with Karisch Jonas Law, PLLC.
4. Flaherty Jones Thompson PLLC
Best if: You need an attorney that can help with wills, trusts, probate, litigation and taxes.
Flaherty Jones Thompson PLLC offers wills, trusts, power of attorney and advance directive. They also specialize in probate, fiduciary litigation and tax law.
Why Should I Work With Flaherty Jones Thompson PLLC? If you are the executor of an estate and run into a problem, they can help.
They also talk about planning with estate and gift tax. As well as helping business owners with wealth transfer. On their wills and trusts page they mention marital property agreements.
Bottom line: If you are dealing with an estate that has an issue, you should consider working with Flaherty Jones Thompson PLLC.
Comparison Of Austin Estate Planning Firms
| Firm | Why They Are Good For You | What They Offer |
|---|---|---|
| Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC | Planning for Family estate planning, probate and potential long-term care considerations | Estate planning, probate, guardianship, Medicaid planning |
| Nielsen Law | Planning around special needs | Estate planning, special needs trusts, administering an estate |
| Karisch Jonas Law, PLLC | Help with trust administration | Probate, estate planning, trust administration, changing a trust, mediation |
| Flaherty Jones Thompson PLLC | Help with estate planning, probate, litigation and taxes | Wills, trusts, probate, litigation, tax |
This is based on the services each firm emphasizes in its published materials.
What To Ask When Working With An Estate Planning Attorney
You should bring all of your current documents and assets that you want to discuss with the attorney. Some questions you should ask are:
- What documents do I need? Whether that is a will, trust, power of attorney or medical directive.
- What will happen once my documents are executed? If they are recommending a trust, who will help you move your assets into it and make sure your beneficiary information is updated?
- Who can I contact if I need to change something? If you get married, divorced, have a child or acquire property you may need to review or update parts of your estate plan.
- What support is available to an executor or trustee after a death? If you need to go through probate, administer an estate or act as a trustee, do you need to hire another attorney?
- What will they do for me? Make sure you understand what they are going to do for you.
TexasLawHelp can teach you about wills, probate and guardianship. The Texas State Law Library can tell you more about financial and medical power of attorney.
Once you understand what these documents do, you can ask your attorney better questions about your situation.
Which Estate Planning Lawyer Should You Speak With?
There are many things to consider when choosing an attorney to help you plan for your family’s future.
When you are trying to create an estate plan, you want to know how all of these factors play into your life.
In this comparison, Hailey-Petty Law Firm, PLLC is the best starting point if you want to discuss estate documents, guardianship and potential long-term care needs. They offer wills, trusts, power of attorney, advance health care directives, probate, guardianship and Medicaid planning. Not only do they help you with these documents, but they also offer information on their website to help you learn more about your options.
