Incorporation Lawyer Austin: Your Guide to Starting a Texas Business Simply
In 2025, Austin was named a top city for startups, with 12% of all local businesses being active for less than a year. While the energy in Silicon...
Continue ReadingWelcome to the Massingill blog. Here’ll you’ll find frequently published articles on important topics relating to business law, healthcare business law, and family estate planning. Not finding the information you need? Book a consultation. Our friendly and helpful legal staff will answers your questions and get you on the path to solutions.
Estate Planning Austin: Protect Your Texas Assets & Family Legacy
With Austin's median home price hitting $525,000 in early 2026, your property is likely your most valuable asset. Without a clear strategy, that home...
Continue ReadingMedical Power of Attorney in Austin, TX: A Simple Guide to Protecting Your Future
What if a sudden medical crisis left you unable to speak, and the person you trust most was legally barred from making your healthcare decisions?...
Continue ReadingHow to Create a Trust in Texas: A Step-by-Step Guide
To create a trust in Texas, you generally need to decide what kind of trust you need, identify the trustee and beneficiaries, create a written trust document, sign it properly, and transfer assets into the trust. The trust document is important, but funding the trust is what makes it useful. A trust that owns nothing may not avoid probate...
Continue ReadingDoes a Will Have to Be Probated in Texas?
In Texas, a will usually needs to be probated if you want to use it to transfer property, appoint an executor, or prove who has the legal right to manage the estate. A will by itself does not automatically move assets after someone dies. The court generally has to admit the will to probate before it can be used...
Continue ReadingWhat Is a QTIP Trust? A Plain-English Guide for Texas Families
A QTIP trust, short for qualified terminable interest property trust, is an estate planning tool that can provide income for a surviving spouse while preserving control over who receives the remaining assets after that spouse dies. It is often used in second marriages, blended families, and larger estates where one spouse wants to care for the surviving spouse but...
Continue ReadingTravis County Probate: A Practical Guide for Austin Families
Travis County probate is the court process used in Austin and the surrounding Travis County area to handle a deceased person’s estate, including admitting wills to probate, appointing executors or administrators, determining heirs, and overseeing certain estate disputes. If your loved one lived in Travis County, probate will often be filed through the Travis County probate system. Not every...
Continue ReadingLetters Testamentary in Texas: What They Are and How to Get Them
Letters Testamentary in Texas are court-issued documents that prove an executor has legal authority to act for a deceased person’s estate after a will has been admitted to probate. Banks, title companies, investment firms, and other institutions often ask for Letters Testamentary before they will let someone access accounts, sell property, transfer assets, or handle estate business. Being named...
Continue ReadingLiving Trust in Texas: Cost, Benefits, and When You Actually Need One
A living trust in Texas can cost more upfront than a simple will, but it may be worth it if you want to avoid probate, keep family affairs more private, plan for incapacity, or manage how beneficiaries receive assets. For many families, the real question is not whether living trusts are good. It is whether the added cost and...
Continue ReadingHow Much Does Probate Cost in Texas?
Probate in Texas can cost a few hundred dollars in court filing fees for a simple case, but the total cost is often much higher once attorney fees, executor fees, court costs, bonds, appraisals, ad litem fees, publication, and title work are included. A straightforward uncontested probate may cost a few thousand dollars. A contested or complicated estate can...
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