Our Practice Areas
Tomball Elder Law Attorneys
Assisting The Elderly Plan For the Future in Texas
When you think about protecting your family’s future, what comes to mind? For most, it’s ensuring that the wealth they built during their lifetime can pass on to the next generation. But this doesn’t happen on its own, which means you need to secure experienced legal counsel to help you with all of your estate planning needs.
We at Theander & Grimes, PLLC can help. With more than a decade of combined legal experience, we have the knowledge and skills necessary to guide our clients through estate planning and related matters. Ensuring your loved ones are prepared for the future can start with reaching out to our Tomball elder law attorneys, who can craft an estate plan that’s unique to your financial situation and your family’s needs.
Learn more about how Theander & Grimes, PLLC can assist you during an initial consultation. Contact us now by calling (281) 968-9965 to get started with our elder lawyers in Tomball!
What is Elder Law?
Elder law is considered a legal practice area focusing on issues affecting older individuals. It encompasses a variety of legal matters that are especially relevant to senior citizens and their families. The primary goal of elder law is to address the specific legal needs and challenges faced by the elderly population. Some of the common areas covered by elder law may include:
- Estate Planning: This often involves the creation of wills, trusts, and other legal documents to supervise the distribution of assets after death. It also addresses issues such as minimizing estate taxes and ensuring that the individual's wishes are maintained.
- Guardianship and Conservatorship: Elder law attorneys may assist with establishing guardianships or conservatorships for individuals who are unable to make decisions for themselves because of incapacity. This can involve making decisions related to healthcare, finances, or both.
- Healthcare Advocacy: This involves assisting clients in making healthcare decisions, including the preparation of advance directives, living wills, and durable powers of attorney for healthcare.
- Probate and Estate Administration: Elder law often involves assisting with the administration of estates, including probate proceedings, to ensure that the deceased person's assets are distributed according to their wishes.
Given the complexity of seniors' issues, elder lawyers often work closely with other professionals, like financial planners, healthcare providers, and social workers, to provide comprehensive support for their clients.
Elder Law Matters We handle
It’s never too late to start planning for the future. If you’re a senior citizen with an outdated estate plan or without one at all, now is always a good time to fill the gaps to protect yourself and your loved ones.
If you aren’t a senior, it’s best to address legal matters that can affect your family as soon as possible. Whether this involves building your own estate plan or handling the legal affairs of a loved one’s estate, you can also benefit from professional legal services.
Our Tomball elder lawyers can help anyone with legal law matters such as:
If you are experiencing a related legal challenge and aren’t sure who to turn to for help, you can always reach out to Theander & Grimes, PLLC. As experienced elder law attorneys in Tomball, we can offer insight to help you address your legal challenge.
What Should I Have in My Estate Plan?
Everyone’s estate plan should be unique to their needs, but most people benefit from having at least a power of attorney, an advance directive, and a will. Trusts are also very useful estate planning instruments and should be considered if someone wishes to avoid probate.
Power of Attorney
During a time of incapacity brought on by serious injury, illness, or old age, a power of attorney assigns a trusted agent to make important financial and legal decisions on someone else’s behalf. An agent can be a spouse, an adult child, or anyone else trusted to manage someone’s affairs when they are unable to do so.
Advances Directives
Advance directives allow people to predetermine the kind of medical care they receive when they are otherwise unable to communicate their wishes. If someone is in a coma or incapacitated by another medical condition, their advance directive can provide the guidance doctors and nurses need to know how to treat them. This often means outlining the extent to which life-saving or life-preserving efforts are used.
Wills
Wills are important estate planning instruments for passing wealth on to the next generation. Having a will is more important than most people think, especially when they have specific intentions for their estate’s distribution. Without a will, Texas laws determine how property is split among a loved one’s legal heirs, regardless of what they may have intended. Often in blended families, this results in a distribution a you would not have preferred.
Trusts
Trusts avoid probate, which is the process of administering an estate with or without a will. Avoiding probate can have important advantages such as cutting down on court costs and the time it takes to settle an estate. It also keeps a family’s financial affairs private, because probate proceedings are public records.
Contact Our Elder Lawyers in Tomball Today
The elder law attorneys in Tomball at Theander & Grimes, PLLC are ready to assist clients with their unique needs. We provide each client with a personalized experience, which means you can expect custom-tailored legal solutions that address your specific challenges and goals.
Contact Theander & Grimes, PLLC today to get started with our Tomball elder law attorneys.
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“Don't wait, Amanda and team are fantastic.” - Lem M.
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“I highly recommend working with Amanda and her law firm.” - George H.
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“I highly recommend Amanda Grimes and her colleagues at Theander & Grimes.” - CC
