San Marcos Estate Planning Lawyer

Do you need an estate planning lawyer in San Marcos, TX? At The J.M. Dickerson Law Firm, we provide estate planning representation grounded in three decades of work on behalf of clients in San Marcos and the surrounding area.

If you’re trying to plan your estate or settle a loved one’s affairs in San Marcos, you may be dealing with paperwork, family dynamics, and questions about what happens next. Most people put it off because they aren’t sure where to begin.

Our firm has practiced in Central Texas since 1995, and estate planning has been our focus ever since. We charge a flat fee, quoted up front, and the first consultation costs nothing. Call our San Marcos, TX estate planning lawyer when you’re ready to get started.

Estate Planning Lawyer San Marcos, TX

Estate planning is the process of deciding, in advance and in writing, who receives what you own, who makes decisions if you cannot, and who cares for anyone who depends on you. It is not a single document. It is a set of instruments that work together, and it applies whether your estate is a house on the Blanco River or a portfolio spread across accounts.

Hays County grew 26.3% between April 2020 and July 2025, reaching 304,390 residents, according to Census Bureau QuickFacts. Much of that growth arrived as families and retirees who bought property here and never revisited the plan they made somewhere else. Texas is a community property state with its own rules on marital property and homestead rights, so documents drafted elsewhere usually need a second look.

Types of Estate Planning Cases We Handle in San Marcos

Every plan we build starts with what you own and who you want protected. From there, the documents follow. Services that our San Marcos estate planning lawyers handle include:

• Wills. A will directs where your property goes and names the executor who carries out your wishes. It also designates a guardian for minor children, which is the reason many parents finally sit down and sign one.
• Living trusts. Property held in a living trust generally passes to your beneficiaries without court involvement. We fund the trust properly at the outset, because an unfunded trust protects nobody.
• Trusts. Beyond the revocable variety, trusts can hold assets for a child who is not ready to manage money, provide for a spouse in a second marriage, or keep ownership private. We match the structure to the outcome you want.
• Powers of attorney. A durable financial power of attorney lets someone you trust pay bills, manage accounts, and sign documents if you cannot. Without one, your family may need a court’s permission to act.
• Living wills. Also called a directive to physicians, this document records your wishes about end-of-life care. It spares your family from guessing during the worst week of their lives.
• Lady Bird deeds. This deed lets you keep full control of your home during your lifetime while naming who receives it afterward. For many Hays County homeowners it is the simplest way to move a house outside probate.
• Asset protection. Layering ownership across trusts and entities limits what a single claim can reach. We build these structures before trouble arrives, which is the only point at which they work.
• Business succession. Owners need instructions for what happens to the company when they retire, sell, or die. We coordinate the buy-sell terms with the estate plan so the two documents don’t contradict each other.
• Probate. When a plan has already been tested by a death, we guide executors through the Hays County process, from the application through the final distribution.

Why Choose The J.M. Dickerson Law Firm as my Estate Planning Lawyer in San Marcos, TX?

Central Texas Roots and Practice Since 1995

Joseph M. Dickerson earned his business degree from Texas State University here in San Marcos before taking his law degree at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, and he has practiced law in this region since 1995. He is the only attorney at our firm, so the estate planning attorney reviewing your assets is the one whose name is on the door. He also holds an MBA, which matters when an estate includes a closely held business. Outside the practice, he has served Rotary International since 2000 and has written several books on protecting family and business assets.

Flat Fees and a Long Record of Completed Plans

Our San Marcos estate planning lawyer will quote a flat fee before any drafting begins, so you are never guessing at the final cost, and no invoice arrives later with surprise charges. For over three decades our office has prepared wills, trusts, directives, and deeds for a great many Central Texas families, across estates simple and complicated.

Understanding Estate Planning Cases

Key Estate Planning Documents and What They Do

Most plans are built from a handful of documents, which our San Marcos estate planning attorney can help you gather. Understanding what each one does makes the drafting conversation much shorter.

• Last will and testament. Directs distribution of property and names an executor and guardians.
• Revocable living trust. Holds assets during your life and transfers them afterward without probate.
• Durable power of attorney. Authorizes someone to handle financial matters if you become unable to.
• Medical power of attorney. Names the person who speaks for you on health care decisions.
• Directive to physicians. It records your own wishes about life-sustaining treatment.
• Deeds and beneficiary designations. Move specific property and accounts directly to the people you name.

None of these documents does the work of another. A will says nothing about medical care, and a medical power of attorney says nothing about your house. A plan that leaves out one of these essential documents tends to fail at exactly the moment it is needed, which is why our San Marcos estate planning lawyer makes sure that you have the necessary documents.

What Are Important Aspects of an Estate Planning Case?

A few facts about your situation drive nearly every decision we make together.

• What you own, and how each asset is titled.
• Whether you have minor children or a dependent adult.
• Whether this is a first marriage or a blended family with children from different relationships.
• Whether you own a business or rental property.
• Whether the people named on your accounts still reflect your intentions, since failing to update beneficiaries can override everything else you signed.

Our San Marcos estate planning attorney will ask about all of it in the first meeting.

What Is The Estate Planning Case Timeline?

Most plans move from the first meeting to signed documents in a few weeks. Complexity, not delay, is what stretches the schedule, and a plan involving a business or property in several counties takes longer than one that does not.

• We meet, review what you own, and identify who needs to be protected.
• We recommend a structure and quote the flat fee.
• We draft the documents and send them to you for review.
• You come in to sign, with witnesses and a notary present.
• We retitle assets and record any deeds so the plan actually functions.

That last step is the one people skip on their own, and it is why DIY estate planning so often produces documents that do nothing.

What Should You Bring to Your Estate Planning Consultation?

When meeting with our team, bring documents that show your finances, assets, and wishes. Helpful items may include:

• A list of what you own, including real property, accounts, vehicles, and business interests.
• Copies of any existing will, trust, or powers of attorney.
• Recent statements showing who is named as beneficiary on retirement and insurance accounts.
• Names and contact information for the people you would want to serve as executor, trustee, or guardian.
• Deeds for any real estate, in Hays County or elsewhere.

The meeting usually runs about an hour. We will walk through your assets, your family situation, and what you want to happen, then explain the options in plain terms. You will leave knowing which documents your situation calls for and exactly what they cost.

Hays County Probate Court and Local Resources

San Marcos residents fall under the jurisdiction of Hays County. Knowing which office does what saves time later.

• Probate, guardianship, and mental health matters are heard by the Hays County Courts at Law, which sit at 712 S. Stagecoach Trail in the Hays County Government Center.
• Wills, applications, and inventories are filed with the Hays County Clerk rather than with the court itself, and that same office records the deeds that transfer real property.
• For general background, the Texas State Law Library publishes a plain-language research guide on wills, directives, and estate planning.

None of this replaces a plan built for your circumstances by our San Marcos estate planning attorney, but it tells you where the paperwork lands.

Reach Out to The J.M. Dickerson Law Firm to Schedule a Consultation

Putting an estate plan in place gets easier the sooner you start. Your first meeting with our San Marcos estate planning lawyer is free, and every plan we draft is quoted at a flat fee. We will review what you own, explain which documents fit, and give you a straight answer on cost. Our office answers calls around the clock. Contact us to schedule your consultation.