Houston Estate Planning Attorney for Flat-Fee Wills, Trusts, and Powers of Attorney
A Houston estate plan is a set of signed legal documents that tells your family, your doctors, and Texas courts what you want if you die or can't make decisions. It usually includes a will or living trust plus powers of attorney. Without one, Texas law and a county court decide for you.
Maybe you just welcomed a child, bought a home, or watched a parent's estate stall in probate. Each of those moments raises the same question: who takes care of things if something happens to you? The Law Offices of Francisca Manchac, PLLC drafts Texas estate plans for a flat fee, starting at $1,800 for one person and $3,500 for a couple. Francisca F. Manchac has more than 17 years of experience drafting estate plans, business agreements, and real estate documents. She handles your plan herself, from the first call to the signing table. Call (832) 263-0935 to book a free 30-minute virtual consultation.
Key Takeaways
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A Texas will must be signed in front of two witnesses age 14 or older who are physically present, so a Texas will can't be signed entirely online.
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A revocable living trust only avoids probate for property titled in the trust's name. For a Houston home, that means a new deed recorded with the Harris, Fort Bend, or Montgomery County Clerk.
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Texas has no state estate or inheritance tax, and the federal estate tax exemption is $15 million per person in 2026, so most Houston plans focus on probate, incapacity, and family protection.
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The Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) recovers only from the probate estate, which is one reason long-term care planning belongs in your estate plan.
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The firm's Trust Plan ($4,400 single, $6,000 couple) includes deeding your primary residence into the trust and recording it, plus a funding memo for your other accounts.
Who Needs Estate Planning in Houston?
Every Houston adult with property, children, or someone who would need to act for them in a medical emergency needs an estate plan. Most people start after a life event. New parents need to name a guardian for their kids. Married couples need plans that fit Texas community property rules. Blended families need to protect a spouse and children from a prior relationship at the same time. Young adults need powers of attorney once they turn 18. Business owners and real estate investors need plans that keep their companies and rentals running. Adult children of aging parents, newly widowed spouses, people facing a new diagnosis, and families who just moved to Texas round out the list.
Houston Estate Planning Services
The firm's estate planning practice covers every document a Texas family needs to plan for death, incapacity, and long-term care. Each service below links to a page with more detail.
Wills
A will names who inherits your property, who serves as executor, and who raises your minor children. Texas wills need two witnesses age 14 or older. A self-proving affidavit lets the will be accepted in probate without calling those witnesses to testify. Couples usually sign matching mirror wills. Learn about wills in Houston.
Revocable Living Trusts
A revocable living trust holds your assets during your life and passes them to your beneficiaries without probate. You stay in control as trustee and can change the trust at any time. Couples usually sign one joint trust. Each Texas trust plan also includes a pour-over will, a Certificate of Trust for banks, and a Community Property Survivorship Agreement for couples. Learn about revocable living trusts.
Trust Funding
A trust only controls what you put into it. Funding means retitling your home, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts into the trust's name. For a Houston home, Francisca prepares the deed and records it with the county clerk in Harris, Fort Bend, or Montgomery County. If the home is your homestead, your spouse must sign the deed, and a qualifying trust keeps the homestead tax exemption. Read about trust funding.
Durable Financial Power of Attorney
A Texas Statutory Durable Power of Attorney names an agent to pay bills, manage accounts, and handle property if you can't. It needs only a notary to sign. If your agent ever uses it to sell or refinance real estate, the document must be recorded in the county property records. Learn about financial powers of attorney.
Medical Power of Attorney
A Medical Power of Attorney names the person who makes health care decisions when you can't speak for yourself. It matters most in a hospital, whether that's an emergency room in the Texas Medical Center or a clinic in Katy. It's signed before a notary or two adult witnesses. Every plan pairs it with a HIPAA authorization so your agent can see your records. Learn about medical powers of attorney.
Living Wills and Health Care Directives
Texas calls the living will a Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates. It states your wishes about life-sustaining treatment if you have a terminal or irreversible condition. It's signed before a notary or two witnesses. An out-of-hospital DNR is a separate form that needs your doctor's signature, so it isn't completed at your signing appointment. Learn about living wills.
Minor Child Planning and Guardian Nominations
A Declaration of Appointment of Guardian names who raises your children if both parents die. A separate Declaration of Guardian names who should manage your own care if you become incapacitated, and it can name people who should never serve. Texas courts appoint the person you name unless that person is disqualified or the appointment isn't in your best interest. These are planning documents, not court filings. Learn about guardian nominations.
Incapacity Planning
Incapacity planning covers the time when you're alive but can't manage your affairs, such as after a stroke or with dementia. Your powers of attorney, Directive to Physicians, HIPAA authorization, and Declaration of Guardian work together. A trust adds successor trustee powers. The goal is to keep your family out of a court-supervised guardianship. Learn about incapacity planning.
Irrevocable Trusts
Irrevocable trusts serve specific goals. These include long-term care planning, life insurance planning through an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), and holding wealth for future generations through a dynasty trust. Their terms usually can't be changed once signed, so Francisca walks through every tradeoff before you commit. Learn about irrevocable trusts.
Special Needs Trusts
A special needs trust lets a disabled loved one receive an inheritance or a personal injury settlement without losing means-tested benefits such as SSI and Medicaid. A third-party trust holds money that family members leave. A first-party trust holds the person's own assets, such as settlement proceeds. Learn about special needs trusts.
Medicaid and Long-Term Care Planning
Long-term care planning helps you prepare for nursing home costs before they arrive. Planning can position you for future Texas Medicaid eligibility through Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC), often with a Medicaid planning trust. The firm handles the planning only and doesn't file Medicaid applications. Learn about Medicaid planning.
Estate Plan Review and Updates
Plans go stale after a marriage, divorce, birth, death, or move. Francisca reviews plans drafted by any attorney, including plans signed in another state before a move to Houston. She updates wills, trusts, and powers of attorney to match Texas law and your current family. Learn about estate plan reviews.
Why Choose The Law Offices of Francisca Manchac, PLLC for Estate Planning
The firm publishes its Texas estate planning prices and the exact documents in each package. You see the price and the document list before you sign anything.
Francisca F. Manchac drafts and reviews every plan herself. You won't be handed off to an associate halfway through. Her 17+ years include general counsel work for small and large companies. That background matters for business owners and landlords, whose plans need to connect to the companies and rentals they own. Clients who need that extra layer can add asset protection planning in Houston.
Every document is explained in plain language before you sign it. Consultations happen online. Bitsy Deubler, the firm's Legal Operations & Client Experience Specialist, schedules your signing with the witnesses and notary that Texas law requires. One attorney, one flat fee, and one clear plan.
“My first time working with a virtual office. It was an easy process and I appreciated the communication and easy to understand next steps. All my questions were answered and I never felt like I was asking a dumb question. Highly recommend.”
— Jenna
Why Hiring an Estate Planning Attorney Matters
The biggest risk in a do-it-yourself estate plan is a defect nobody finds until you've died or lost capacity, when it's too late to fix. Common examples include a will signed with one witness instead of two, or a trust that never received the house, so the home goes through probate anyway.
What goes wrong alone
Francisca has seen an ex-spouse inherit a 401(k) over a current spouse because nobody updated the beneficiary designation. She has also seen homes pulled out of a trust for a refinance and never deeded back.
What experience adds
Generic forms miss Texas rules, too. Many skip the Declaration of Guardian or the Community Property Survivorship Agreement. Out-of-state templates don't follow the Texas Estates Code at all.
How outcomes differ
An attorney asks the questions a form can't. Who should never serve as your guardian? Which assets pass outside your will? How does your business keep running? The answers shape a plan that works on the day your family needs it.
What Does an Estate Planning Attorney Do in Houston?
An estate planning attorney designs your plan, drafts each Texas document, and runs the signing so every document is valid under the Texas Estates Code. The attorney also helps you pick the people who will act for you. Here's who's involved and when they act.
Roles and Responsibilities
You
Sets the goals, chooses the people, and signs the documents during planning.
Your attorney
Francisca drafts, explains, coordinates signing, and records trust deeds during planning and signing.
Your fiduciaries
Your executor settles your estate after death if probate is needed. A successor trustee manages and distributes trust property at incapacity or death. Your financial agent pays bills and manages accounts right away or at incapacity, as you choose. Your health care agent makes medical decisions when you can't decide for yourself. A named guardian raises your minor children or oversees your care only if a court appointment is needed.
Beneficiaries
Your beneficiaries receive your property after death.
Courts and agencies
County clerks record deeds and powers of attorney used for real estate after signing or when the document is used. Harris County statutory probate courts admit wills to probate and appoint guardians after death or incapacity, only if needed. Texas HHSC decides Medicaid eligibility for long-term care when care is needed.
Our Process
01 - Free Consultation
Call or text (832) 263-0935 or book online. Complete the Client Intake Form at least 24 hours before your call, and upload any existing documents. The consultation doesn't create an attorney-client relationship.
02 - Custom Plan Design
On the call, Francisca learns about your family, property, and goals, then recommends a package. Your fee is set before drafting begins. Representation starts once you sign the engagement agreement.
03 - Review & Signing
Francisca drafts your documents for your situation, not from a template. She walks you through every page and answers your questions before anything is signed. Bitsy Deubler schedules your signing with witnesses and a notary, as Texas law requires.
Trust Plan Funding
For Trust Plans, Francisca records your home's deed into the trust and gives you a funding memo for your remaining accounts.
Common Questions About Estate Planning in Houston
Other questions? Call or text (832) 263-0935.
What's the difference between a will and an estate plan?
A will is one document, and an estate plan is the full set. A will names who inherits your property, who serves as executor, and who raises your minor children. It only takes effect at death, and it still goes through probate. An estate plan adds documents that protect you while you're alive: a Statutory Durable Power of Attorney, a Medical Power of Attorney, a Directive to Physicians, a HIPAA authorization, and a Declaration of Guardian. Many plans also add a revocable living trust, so property passes without probate.
Is a will enough, or do I need a living trust in Texas?
A will is enough for many Houston families, because Texas offers simpler probate options than many states, including independent administration. A revocable living trust makes more sense when you own real estate in another state, have a blended family, own rental property, or want to keep your estate out of public court records. It also puts a successor trustee in place if you become incapacitated. Francisca recommends one or the other during your free consultation. The Trust Plan costs $2,600 more than the Essential Plan for one person.
What happens if I die without a will in Texas?
Texas intestacy law decides who inherits your property, and a court process called a determination of heirship decides who your legal heirs are. The results often surprise families. If you have children from outside your current marriage, your half of the community property goes to your children, not your spouse. A court also picks the guardian for your minor children. Dying without a will doesn't save money. It moves the decisions, and often the cost, to the people you leave behind.
How much does estate planning cost in Houston?
Estate planning at the firm starts at a flat $1,800 for one person or $3,500 for a couple for the Essential Plan. The Trust Plan costs $4,400 single or $6,000 for a couple. The Business & Asset Protection Plan costs $6,000 single or $8,000 for a couple. A flat fee is one set price for the work listed in your engagement agreement, so you won't get billed hourly for phone calls or emails. Your exact fee is confirmed during your free consultation, before any work begins.
Can I use online forms or estate planning software instead?
Online forms can produce a valid Texas will, but they often fail in ways you won't see until the plan is needed. Common problems include the wrong number of witnesses, no self-proving affidavit, out-of-state forms that don't follow the Texas Estates Code, and trusts that never receive the house. Software also can't tell you whether you need a trust or who should never serve as your guardian. A form costs less on day one. A flawed plan can cost your family far more later.
Can I sign my estate plan online in Texas?
Yes. Your consultation, intake questionnaire, and draft reviews all happen by video. For final signing, Texas wills require two adult witnesses, and your powers of attorney and Directive to Physicians need a notary or witnesses. The firm handles that signing in person or fully remotely through its remote online notarization (RON) service, where your witnesses and notary appear on screen and watch you sign. Bitsy Deubler coordinates every detail of the appointment.
How do I choose an estate planning attorney in Houston?
Choose a Texas-licensed attorney who focuses on estate planning, tells you the price before work begins, and meets with you personally. Ask four questions at the first meeting. Who will draft my documents? What exactly does the fee include? Will you deed my house into the trust, or is that on me? How does my plan handle incapacity, not just death? Francisca has been licensed in Texas since 2009, publishes her flat fees, drafts every plan herself, and records your home's deed as part of the Trust Plan.
Does the firm handle probate in Harris County?
No. The firm builds estate plans that help families avoid probate, but it doesn't open probate estates, represent executors or heirs, or appear in Harris County's statutory probate courts. It also doesn't handle court guardianship cases or trust administration after death. When a family needs one of those services, the firm refers them to a trusted Houston attorney. If you're planning now, a funded revocable living trust is the most direct way to keep your family out of probate court later.
Areas We Serve
The firm's Houston office sits at 3333 Allen Parkway, along Buffalo Bayou between downtown and River Oaks. Francisca drafts estate plans for families across Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties. That includes River Oaks, Montrose, the Heights, Memorial, Bellaire, West University Place, Katy, Cypress, Sugar Land, Missouri City, The Woodlands, and Conroe. Consultations happen online, so a parent in Katy or a retiree in The Woodlands can plan without fighting I-10 or I-45 traffic. Trust deeds are recorded with the clerk in your home county.
River Oaks
Montrose
The Heights
Memorial
Bellaire
Harris County
Other Houston Estate Planning Services
Speak With an Estate Planning Attorney in Houston
A plan only protects your family if it's signed before it's needed. Call or text (832) 263-0935 to book a free 30-minute virtual consultation with Francisca F. Manchac. You'll leave the call with a recommended plan and a flat-fee quote, with no obligation to move forward.