Areas We Serve
As lifelong residents of Texas, we are committed to serve the community and our neighbors.
Practice Areas
Our practice areas are focused on securing and preserving the efforts and estates of each of our clients.
We believe that taking proactive steps to conserve your property and legacy creates the foundation needed in order to look toward the future with security. Our firm is proud to offer comprehensive services for any estate planning, civil, or real estate need.
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Estate planning is the process of planning or deciding how your estate—your real and personal property and assets—will be passed down to your heirs and beneficiaries.
We need estate planning in Texas because of what will happen in the absence of an estate plan. In Texas, if you don’t have a will or any other estate planning documents, “Intestacy Laws” take over. Intestacy Laws are a pre-determined set of laws that dictate who will receive what, in what percentage, and in what order.
Essentially, if you don’t want the state to make decisions for you, you need to plan ahead and make those decisions for yourself.
An estate is property, such as money, a house, or other things of value that a person leaves to family members or others (heirs) when he or she dies. Generally, the house is the primary asset in the Medicaid recipient’s estate because other assets are considered countable assets and are essentially limited to $2,000 or less. Upon opening a probate by the family to change title to a family homestead, the State may step in to ensure that it is paid back for the cost of medical services provided.
The basic healthcare documents we include in an estate plan are the medical power of attorney, the advanced directive, and the HIPAA release, which is the privacy provision. We also recommend guardianship appointments.
In many cases, especially if a person is unmarried or has conflict within the family, we will also suggest a document that would appoint an agent to be responsible for your remains. They would be in charge of your body, should you die, as well as how you’re buried and how your remains are handled.
Basically, probate occurs when there is a need for administration.
If someone passes away and they have an estate that needs to be handled, there are many things that have to be done to handle that estate. Decisions have to be made, assets need to be gathered, final creditors and bills need to be paid, and then everything remaining needs to be distributed.
When there’s a need for administration of the estate (or, a need for someone to do all of those things), then the will is admitted to probate and an administration is opened. The executor of the estate is in charge of the administration of the estate. They are in charge of going through the motions and ensuring that the will is followed correctly and legally.
Firm Overview
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Working with a boutique law firm comes with countless benefits. Chief among them is the level of attention and care available to you throughout the course of any legal matter. Larger firms can be constantly tied up in countless cases — while you may be able to reach the front desk, it can be difficult to get into contact with the attorney who is actually representing you.
At Sheehan Law, PLLC, you never have to be confronted with the issue of being left in the dark. Working with a smaller firm allows you to be confident that you are receiving a superior level of service with an unparalleled amount of care and attention. We consciously focus our practice to hold a caseload that is commensurate with our ability to uphold our values.
