About The Hilbun Law Firm, P.C. — estate planning Cypress Texas

Estate planning Cypress clients at The Hilbun Law Firm benefit from Elizabeth Hilbun, a Harris County attorney on Cypress North Houston Road who has practiced estate planning and probate law since the 1980s and received the American Bar Association’s national Difference Makers Award in 2018 for her contributions through the Living Legacy Center nonprofit. Elizabeth’s approach centers on helping families protect future generations by ensuring that end-of-life legal structures are comprehensive, clearly understood, and well-organized. The firm handles wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and probate administration, with particular depth in helping seniors and families with special needs navigate the complexities of long-term care planning. Explore the Cypress lawyers directory for additional Harris County resources.

Estate planning Cypress clients who have lost a parent and needed to administer an estate describe Elizabeth and her team as steady, knowledgeable guides through what is both legally complex and personally painful. The firm’s reputation for explaining probate in practical terms — what must happen and in what order — saves families from costly missteps that occur when estates are administered without counsel.

What Clients Say

Reviewers who came to the firm for estate documents describe a caring, thorough process where Elizabeth takes the time to understand each family’s specific situation rather than applying a one-size-fits-all template. Clients who returned after a parent’s death to administer the estate describe the same warmth and competence. Multiple clients emphasize that Elizabeth genuinely cares about outcomes — a sentiment that appears across reviews spanning decades of client relationships. The firm’s guidance through the probate process for families handling an estate alone draws the most emphatic recommendations.

estate planning Cypress — Practice Areas & Services

• Wills and advance directives for Harris County families
• Revocable and irrevocable trusts, including special needs trusts
• Powers of attorney for finances and healthcare decisions
• Probate administration and estate settlement
• Elder law and long-term care planning
• Living Legacy planning for families with charitable intentions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an independent administration in Texas probate?

Texas offers an independent administration process that is less court-supervised than probate in most other states. An independent executor can administer the estate, pay debts, and distribute assets without obtaining court approval at each step. This makes Texas probate generally faster and less expensive than in many states, but proper legal guidance is still important to ensure creditors are properly handled, assets correctly transferred, and beneficiaries protected from executor errors.

What is a special needs trust and who needs one in Texas?

A special needs trust holds assets for a beneficiary with a disability without disqualifying them from means-tested government benefits such as Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income. Parents and grandparents often establish these trusts to provide supplemental support for a disabled family member after the parent’s death, ensuring continued care without benefit loss. Texas has specific rules governing these trusts, and experienced estate planning counsel is essential to drafting them correctly.

Do I need to go through probate if my spouse dies in Texas?

Not necessarily. Assets held jointly with right of survivorship, accounts with named beneficiaries, and community property with right of survivorship agreements pass outside of probate automatically. However, real property titled solely in the deceased spouse’s name, and assets without beneficiary designations, typically require probate to transfer. A Muniment of Title is a simplified Texas procedure available when there is a valid will and no unpaid debts, which is faster and less costly than full probate.