Managing Attorney
Is 30 too young to start estate planning? What about 25? For both, the answer is no. Only 24% of Americans have a will, according to a 2025 survey. Therefore, procrastination seems to be the norm regarding estate planning. Under Texas law, the minimum age to create a valid will is 18, though married individuals and active-duty military members may do so at any age. A Houston estate planning attorney can help you determine what you actually need right now, whether you are just starting out or updating a plan that is years out of date.
How Old Do You Have to Be to Start Estate Planning in Texas?
Under Texas law, the minimum age to create a valid will is 18. That holds whether you own a house or just a laptop and a savings account. The same age threshold applies to powers of attorney and advance directives.
What catches many Houston parents off guard is what happens the moment their child hits that threshold. Once your child turns 18, parents generally lose automatic access to the child’s medical information and decision-making authority unless the adult child signs a valid authorization or appoints a healthcare agent, subject to limited legal exceptions. If your college-bound student is in an accident, you may not be able to help without a healthcare proxy already on file.
This is why a basic estate plan at 18 matters even when there are no significant assets. At a minimum, every young adult should have a healthcare directive and a durable power of attorney before heading off to college or starting a first job.
Which Life Events Should Prompt an Estate Plan Review?
Estate planning is not a one-time task. These changes in your life mean your existing plan (or lack of one) deserves a fresh look:
- Getting married or divorced
- Buying a home
- Having or adopting a child
- Receiving a significant inheritance or gift
- Starting or selling a business
- Losing a spouse or named beneficiary
- Approaching retirement
For families in Katy, Sugar Land, Cypress, and Pearland who are buying homes and building careers, the gap between “I’ll get to it eventually” and “something happened” can be costly for everyone left behind. Business owners face an added concern. A business succession plan and a personal estate plan are interconnected. The assets you hold through a business entity, a buy-sell agreement, or a partnership all affect how your estate passes. A gap in one can unravel the other.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Texas?
Without a will, Texas applies its intestate succession laws, and the result may not match what you intended.
Texas is a community property state, which impacts intestate shares. Under Texas intestate succession rules, if you die leaving a surviving spouse and all your children are also children of your surviving spouse, your share of community property passes to your surviving spouse.
However, if you have children from outside your marriage, your one-half share of the community estate passes to those children, not to your spouse. Your surviving spouse may end up co-owning your home with children from a prior relationship, a common shock for Houston families who assumed the surviving spouse would simply inherit everything.
Separate property divides differently. Your spouse receives one-third of your personal property and a life estate in one-third of your real estate, while your children receive the rest.
A last will and testament gives you control over how your assets are distributed. It also lets you name a guardian for your minor children in your will, one of the most consequential decisions in any parent’s estate plan.
Which Documents Does Every Texan Need in Their Estate Plan?
A basic estate plan covers four core documents:
- Last Will and Testament: Directs asset distribution and names a guardian for any minor children.
- Durable Power of Attorney (Financial): Authorizes a trusted person to manage your financial and legal affairs if you are incapacitated. Learn how a financial power of attorney works in Texas.
- Medical Power of Attorney: Gives someone you trust authority to make healthcare decisions on your behalf.
- Directive to Physicians (Living Will): Documents your wishes about life-sustaining treatment, governed by Texas’s Advance Directives Act.
These documents fall into two planning categories. An incapacity planning strategy covers the powers of attorney, while advance directives address end-of-life medical wishes. Both matter long before a health crisis occurs.
Do You Need a Trust, or Will a Will Do?
A will is a solid foundation, but it passes through probate (the court-supervised process of distributing your estate after death). A revocable living trust can transfer assets to your beneficiaries directly, without that process.
A trust is worth considering for:
- Parents of minor children who want to control when and how assets are inherited
- Blended families with complex distribution needs
- Business owners integrating personal wealth with a succession strategy
- Anyone who values privacy, since wills become public record and trusts do not
Whether a will or trust makes more sense depends on your assets, your family structure, and your goals. Many Texas families benefit from both.
How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan?
Review your plan every three to five years, or sooner after a major life event such as marriage, divorce, a new child, the death of a named beneficiary, or a significant change in your finances. If your children are now adults, your named beneficiaries have changed, or your assets have grown substantially, each is a sign your documents need a fresh look. An outdated plan can create as many problems as no plan at all.
Start Your Estate Plan With a Houston Estate Planning Attorney
Whether you are starting from scratch or updating a plan that is years out of date, there is no better time to act than now. Contact our Houston estate planning attorney for a consultation today.