Legal Research Guides > Estate Planning, Wills, and Trusts (last updated: 03/13/2024)

General Information

Texaslawhelp.org contains several research articles about estate planning in Texas. Read More.

• Choosing Someone to Handle Your Remains When You Die

• Do-It-Yourself Guide for Handwritten Wills

• Estate Planning: Planning Who Gets Your Property

• Estate Planning for Police, Fire, and Medical Personnel (Dallas Bar Association)

• Handwritten Wills Checklist

• How to Draft an Affidavit of Heirship

• How to Minimize the Need for Probate in Texas

• Living Trust Scams

• Payable on Death Bank Accounts

• Self-Proving Wills in Texas

• Texas Guide to Disposition of Remains

• Transfer on Death Deeds (TODDs)

• When and How to Do a Handwritten Will Instructional Video

• Why You Need a Will

Blog Posts from Ex Libris Juris

• Latest & Greatest – Wills Road Map: Practical Considerations in Will Drafting (January 25, 2018)

Texas Laws

Texas Estates Code

• Certain Provisions in, and Contracts Relating to, Wills – Texas Estates Code, Chapter 254

• Change and Revocation of Wills – Texas Estates Code §§ 253.001-253.002

• Fundamental Requirements and Provisions Relating to Wills – Texas Estates Code, Chapter 251

  • Interests That May Pass by Will; Disinheritance – Texas Estates Code § 251.002

  • Self-Proved Wills – Texas Estates Code §§ 251.101-251.107

  • Who May Execute a Will - Texas Estates Code § 251.001

  • Will Requirements – Texas Estates Code §§ 251.051-251.052

• Safekeeping and Custody of Wills – Texas Estates Code, Chapter 252

  • Deposit of Will with County Clerk – Texas Estates Code §§ 252.001-252.003

  • Duty and Liability of Custodian of Estate Papers – Texas Estates Code §§ 252.201-252.204

  • Legal Effect of Will Deposit – Texas Estates Code §§ 252.151-252.153

Court Rules

• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure

• Texas Rules of Evidence

• Local Rules of the Probate Courts of Harris County, Texas

 *Be sure to check the website of the court to which you are assigned. Policies, procedures, and requirements may vary from court to court.

Forms

Online

• Sample Affidavit of Heirship

• Transfer on Death Deed Kit

• Will Form for a Person Who is Single, Widowed, or Divorced and Who Has Children (English)

• Will Form for a Married Person Who Has Children (English)

• Will Form for a Person Who is Single, Widowed, or Divorced and Does Not Have Children (English)

• Will Form for a Married Person Who Does Not Have Children (English)

• Will Form for a Person Who is Single, Widowed, or Divorced and Who Has Children (Bilingual English/Spanish)

• Will Form for a Married Person Who Has Children (Bilingual English/Spanish)

• Will Form for a Person Who is Single, Widowed, or Divorced and Does Not Have Children (Bilingual English/Spanish)

• Will Form for a Married Person Who Does Not Have Children (Bilingual English/Spanish)

• Will Forms – Approved by the Supreme Court of Texas

Print

• Davis’s Texas Estate Planning Forms (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library.)

• Quick & Legal Will Book (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Texas Estate Planning (Also available through LexisNexis at the Law Library.)

• Texas Forms Legal & Business (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

• Texas Jurisprudence Pleadings & Practice Forms, 2d (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

• Texas Legal Practice Forms (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

• Texas Practice Guide: Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

• Texas Transaction Guide (Also available online through the Law Library’s LexisNexis Digital Library.)

• West’s Texas Forms (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

Print Resources

• Estate Planning Basics, Denis Clifford, Nolo. Learn the basics of estate planning and the tools by which property can be transferred after death. Topics include wills, living trusts, and methods to avoid probate. (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Joan M. Burda, American Bar Association.  This comprehensive guide helps prepare the user for the unique considerations faced by same-sex couples when it comes to planning one’s estate, establishing a trust, or drafting an advance directive. The appendix contains some useful sample forms, including a last will and testament and a revocable trust agreement. (Also available online through the Law Library’s LexisNexis Digital Library.)

• A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples, Frederick Hertz & Lina Guillen, Nolo. With the value of the family at its core, this book discusses practical matters that lesbian and gay families may face, including financial issues, renting or buying a home together, and healthcare decisions. Chapter 6 focuses specifically on estate planning. (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Make Your Own Living Trust, 16th ed., Denis Clifford, Nolo. An estate planning tool, a living trust provides a way of disposing of property after death without having to go through probate. The author, an estate planning attorney, explains what a living trust is, how it works, and what its advantages and potential downsides are. (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Making It Legal, Frederick Hertz &Emily Doskow, Nolo. While the bulk of this book focuses on how the rules of same-sex marriage may affect families and finances, Chapter 9 specifically addresses estate planning for same-sex couples with a discussion of wills, trusts, and other ways to transfer property at death. (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Plan Your Estate, Denis Clifford, Nolo. With coverage of common estate planning goals, such as leaving property, providing for minors, planning for incapacity, avoiding probate, and reducing the estate tax, this book is a go-to source for easy-to-understand estate planning information. (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Quick & Legal Will Book, Denis Clifford, Nolo. From designating beneficiaries to preparing and finalizing a will, this book provides users with the steps needed to create a simple will. There are sample forms for married people (with and without children) and single, divorced, or widowed individuals (with and without children). (Also available through the Law Library’s EBCSO Legal Information Reference Center.)

• Texas Practice Guide: Wills, Trusts and Estate Planning, Ronald R. Cresswell, et al., Thomson Reuters.  This book provides forms, practical guidance, comprehensive discussions, and strategies for handling issues that arise in estate planning. Chapter 4 focuses on the basic requirements of a will, basic will provisions, and challenges to the validity of a will. Chapter 5 offers some trust basics, including trust creation, modification, and termination, and information about trustees and their duties and responsibilities. (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

• Texas Practice Series: Texas Law of Wills (Vols. 9-10), By Gerry W. Beyer, Thomson Reuters.  This book provides in-dept coverage of topics, such as intestate succession, wills, and probate avoidance techniques. Part II specifically addresses types of wills, the creation and revocation of wills, and will construction. (Also available through Westlaw at the Law Library and through Westlaw Patron Access Remote).

• Wills Road Map: Practical Considerations in Will Drafting, Steve Akers, et al., State Bar of Texas. This book outlines the fundamental concepts that attorneys need to consider when preparing a will and when upholding the validity of such will. The authors provide examples of some specific will provisions and their purposes and provide insight into the substantive laws that affect the disposition of assets under a will. In the appendixes, you can find a checklist for will review, client information questionnaires, and some samples of basic will forms.

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Resources: The State Bar of Texas requires licensed attorneys to take 15 credits of CLE each year.  CLE courses typically focus on a particular area of law and might include legal theory, practice tips and guidance, developments in the law, or legislative updates. CLEs are secondary resources that are especially useful in that they provide current information about legal topics and issues.

• State Bar of Texas Annual Building Blocks of Wills, Estates and Probate Course

• State Bar of Texas Annual Estate Planning & Probate Drafting Course

• State Bar of Texas Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Course

• State Bar of Texas Intermediate Estate Planning & Probate Course 

Related Topics

• Guardianship

• Probate

• Special Needs Trusts