Menu
The estate planning attorneys at Badeaux & Associates located in Clear Lake, Texas have over 30 years of combined experience. An advantage of having a Will or Trust is that it gives you control of how your assets will be distributed and how your beneficiaries will be taken care of after your death.
Texas Estate Planning Legal Services We Offer
- Last Wills and Testaments
- Trusts
- Estate Planning
- For married, single or blended families
- Guardians for children
- Medical Power of Attorney
- Financial Power of Attorney
- Living Wills
Contact our estate planning attorneys located in Clear Lake City, Texas (281) 486-4737 to find out how we can help you!
Get Started Today: Will Questionnaire
Why Choose Our Estate Planning Attorneys
What About IRA’s, 401(k)’s and Life Insurance?
During your office conference with Badeaux & Associates for your Will or Trust and Powers of Attorney, Joanne M. Badeaux, will also advise you on beneficiary designations for your IRA's, 40l(k)'s, annuities, and life insurance policies. This is a significant portion of the meeting because beneficiary forms override your Will or Trust for that account. For many clients, 50% or more of their assets are controlled by beneficiary forms. The estate planning attorneys at Badeaux & Associates takes the appropriate time to coordinate your critical beneficiaries with your estate plan.
Beneficiary designations conflicting with the beneficiaries in your Will is the number one unexpected problem for estates after someone dies! Failure to coordinate your 40 I (k), IRA, and life insurance beneficiary designation forms with your Last Will and Testament can create devastating results like high income taxes, estates taxes, or unintended beneficiaries receiving proceeds.
What to Expect
- When you schedule a meeting with our estate planning attorneys located in Clear Lake, they will listen to your family's goals and estate objectives, address your concerns, and make recommendations for your particular family circumstances. During the office conference, the attorneys will advise you of the best options relevant to your specific goals. They will quote you fees to prepare the documents you request.
- Several weeks after the meeting, copies of your documents will be mailed to you for your review and comment.
- You execute your estate documents in our office so that we can assure that the legal formalities of execution are followed. We provide the notary and 2 witnesses. If coming to our office is not possible or convenient, we come to your location. This applies to clients who are at home ill or in health care facilities.
- After signing your documents, you take the original signed documents with you for your safekeeping. Our firm keeps a backup copy.
Internet Will Kits
All Wills and Trusts documents are not equal. Sometimes people are tempted to use a software program for their Wills and Trusts. Did you know that a disclaimer in Legal Zoom does or did reveal that 80% of people who fill in blank forms to create legal documents do so incorrectly? Some software companies that provide "fill in the blank" Wills and Trusts have lawyers; however, their company is not a law firm, most importantly it's not your Law Firm. A software algorithm cannot substitute the professional judgment of a lawyer who has a duty and obligation to you. Lawyers who work for do-it-yourself on-line Will drafting companies do not have privity of contract with you; therefore, they have no liability for giving you bad advice.
Many clients in the Clear Lake, League City, Friendswood and Deer Park areas have estates with a value of $500,000.00 - $3 million. Using an on-line company for your Will or Trust if you have assets of that magnitude may not be the best choice. Why? Because the backlash from using the internet for Wills and Trusts is that the mistakes are not known until the person dies. And the people left suffering with the consequences, confusion and time delays caused by the mistakes are likely the people the Will was trying to protect.
Get Started Today: Will Questionnaire
Contact an Estate Planning Lawyer in Clear Lake Today
Located in Clear Lake, Texas, the estate planning lawyers at Badeaux & Associates have many clients who live in Clear Lake, League City, Friendswood, Pearland, Kemah, Seabrook, Dickinson, Deer Park and Pasadena, and other surrounding cities. We travel to estate planning clients who are unable to travel due to illness or difficulty with mobility. Feel free to give us a call at (281) 486-4737, or contact us online, to get started today!
