Practice areas & fees

Who it’s for

Anyone with a house, a bank account, children, or a clear opinion about who should step in if something happens. Most of our clients are married couples between 30 and 75, parents of young kids, and people who just bought a home or a few acres in the Brazos Valley.

What’s included, and what it costs

• Will package, one person

  $1,150

  The full set of documents every Texas adult should have.

  • Will with a self-proving affidavit
  • Statutory durable power of attorney
  • Medical power of attorney
  • Directive to physicians (the Texas living will)
  • HIPAA authorization
  • Declaration of guardian, in case of later incapacity
  • Appointment of agent to control disposition of remains

• Will package, married couple

  $1,650

  Everything above for both spouses, coordinated around Texas community property so the two plans work together.

• Will package with a children’s trust

  $2,150couple

  Adds a trust inside your wills that holds your children’s inheritance until the age you choose, and names guardians for minor children.

• Revocable living trust package

  $3,200one person$3,900 for a couple

  For land, property in more than one county, or families who want to keep things out of probate court.

  • Revocable trust agreement and pour-over wills
  • The full set of powers of attorney and directives
  • A deed moving your Texas homestead into the trust
  • Certificate of trust to show banks and title companies
  • A funding letter that walks you through each account

• Transfer on death deed

  $450per propertyplus county recording fee

  Passes a house or a piece of land to the people you name without probate. A good fit for one property and a simple family.

• Powers of attorney only

  $500one person$750 for a couple

  Financial and medical powers of attorney, directive to physicians and HIPAA release, without a will.

Billed hourly instead

These take a different amount of work every time, so we bill them by the hour and give you an estimate first.

• Estates near the federal estate-tax exemption
• Special needs and supplemental needs trusts (we quote a cap after the first meeting)
• Transferring mineral and royalty interests
• Funding a trust with more than one piece of real estate
• Reviewing or amending a plan another firm drafted

Who it’s for

The person named as executor in a will, or the next of kin when there isn’t one. You don’t need to know what to do. Most people call us a month or two after the funeral, holding a death certificate and a folder of bank statements.

What’s included, and what it costs

• Muniment of title

  From$1,950

  A Texas shortcut. When there is a valid will and no debts except a mortgage, the court admits the will and the order itself transfers the property. No executor, one short hearing.

  • Preparing and filing the application
  • The hearing at the courthouse, with you
  • Certified copies of the order
  • Recording it in each county where there is real estate

• Independent administration with a will

  From$3,500

  The most common Texas probate. The court appoints the executor, then mostly steps aside. The flat fee runs from the application through the inventory.

  • Application, hearing and letters testamentary
  • Required notice to creditors
  • The inventory and list of claims, or the sworn affidavit that replaces it
  • A written checklist of what the executor does next

• Small estate affidavit

  From$1,500

  For estates worth up to $75,000, not counting the homestead and exempt property, when there is no will and no administration is pending. No executor is appointed.

• Heirship and administration without a will

  From$3,800plus the ad litem’s fee

  With no will, the court first decides who the legal heirs are, and appoints a separate attorney to represent any heirs nobody knows about. The judge sets that attorney’s fee.

Billed hourly instead

These take a different amount of work every time, so we bill them by the hour and give you an estimate first.

• After the inventory: selling property, paying debts and distributing
• Will contests and disputes between heirs
• Dependent administration and guardianship
• Estates with an operating business or out-of-state property

Who it’s for

People starting or running a business in the Brazos Valley: contractors, consultants, shops, clinics, restaurants, landlords with a few rentals, and families selling a company they’ve run for thirty years.

What’s included, and what it costs

• LLC formation, one owner

  $1,100plus $300 state filing fee

  A Texas LLC that is set up correctly from day one, with the paperwork your bank will ask for.

  • Name check and certificate of formation, filed with the Texas Secretary of State
  • Company agreement written for a single owner
  • EIN from the IRS and an organizational consent
  • Registered agent service for the first year
  • Your annual Texas report deadlines, on your calendar

• LLC formation, two or more owners

  From$2,400plus $300 state filing fee

  Adds a negotiated company agreement: who put in what, who decides, and what happens if an owner leaves, divorces or dies.

• Contract review

  $450per agreement, up to 15 pages

  A commercial lease, a vendor contract, a franchise agreement. You get a short written memo: what’s unusual, what to push back on, and the language to ask for.

• Core contracts set

  From$1,500

  Your customer agreement or terms, an independent contractor agreement and an NDA, written for the way you actually work.

• Assumed name (DBA) certificate

  $250plus filing fee

  When the business trades under a name that isn’t its legal one.

• Buying or selling a business

  Quotedper deal

  Once there is a signed letter of intent, we quote a capped fee for the purchase agreement and closing documents. Most local deals close in 60 to 120 days.

Billed hourly instead

These take a different amount of work every time, so we bill them by the hour and give you an estimate first.

• Negotiating with the other side’s lawyer
• Due diligence and negotiation past a deal’s capped fee
• Commercial lease negotiation
• Disagreements between owners and partner buyouts