Frequently asked questions

Yes. Consultations and most meetings can happen by video. Some signings require meeting in person.

Yes. When a client can’t travel, Jonathan can arrange signings at home, in a hospital or at a care facility as needed. A travel fee applies.

With Jonathan, from start to finish.

Fort Worth, Tarrant County and nearby counties across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Parker, Johnson, Hood, Denton, Wise and Collin. Clients elsewhere in Texas can often work with Jonathan remotely.

The first 30 minutes of a consultation are free, and time beyond that is billed against your case charges. Estate planning is offered as flat-fee packages, quoted at your consultation. Probate and guardianship are billed hourly, with a written estimate before work begins. See Fees & Process for details.

Estate planning documents are signed in person, with the required witnesses and a notary, and Jonathan does not use remote online notarization. If you can’t travel, he can arrange a signing at your home, a hospital or a care facility. A travel fee applies.

Many families do well with a will; others benefit from a trust. It depends on your property, your family and your goals.

Yes. Anyone can set up a trust. Whether you need one depends on your property, your family and your goals, and Jonathan will tell you honestly if a will is enough.

Review them every 3 to 5 years and after any major life event, such as a marriage, divorce, birth, death, move or sale of a business.

Please don’t mark up or rewrite signed documents. A will is changed with a signed amendment (a codicil) or replaced with a new will, and a trust is changed with a signed amendment or restated. Call Jonathan, and he will tell you which fits your situation.

It can be, if it’s signed correctly. Online wills often miss Texas-specific provisions that make probate easier.

It’s wise to have it reviewed. Powers of attorney and medical documents especially should follow current Texas forms.

Appointing an executor usually takes a few weeks. Settling the estate commonly takes 6 to 12 months.

Some assets pass outside probate, such as accounts with a named beneficiary, property in a properly funded living trust and real estate with a transfer on death deed. Each option has trade-offs, so the right mix depends on your family and your assets. A conversation with Jonathan is the best way to find it.

Generally, within 4 years of death.

Texas law decides who inherits, and a court may need to confirm the heirs.

60 months. Transfers for less than fair value during that time can delay eligibility.

When someone can no longer manage their own affairs and less restrictive alternatives, like powers of attorney, aren’t available or enough.

Put less restrictive tools in place while you or your loved one can still make decisions: a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney and a directive to physicians. For some adults with disabilities, a supported decision-making agreement can help. A court considers guardianship only when alternatives like these are not available or enough.

A Texas agreement that lets an adult with a disability choose a supporter to help them make their own decisions.