Wills & Trusts Attorney in Burleson

Serving Burleson Families Since 1990, Inside the Courts That Matter

A well-drafted estate plan puts you in control of decisions that can outlast you. At Coontz Cochran, we’ve helped individuals and families in Burleson create wills, trusts, and powers of attorney since 1990, drawing on over 50 years of combined legal experience. When you work with us, you work directly with attorneys who also handle probate proceedings in Johnson County courts, giving your plan the benefit of real-world knowledge about how these documents perform when they’re tested.

Estate planning doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be done right. Call Coontz Cochran at (888) 858-0536 to schedule a free initial consultation with our wills and trusts attorneys in Burleson.

Estate Planning Documents We Help You Prepare

Every estate plan is built from a set of core legal instruments. We help clients understand what each document does and draft the version that fits their family, their assets, and their goals.

Last Will and Testament
A last will and testament directs how your property is distributed after your death and names an executor to carry out those instructions. Without a valid will, Texas intestate succession laws determine who inherits your estate, and those rules follow a fixed formula that may not reflect your actual wishes.

Revocable Living Trust
A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them to your named beneficiaries after your death, outside of the probate process. This can reduce delays and court costs for your family and gives you flexibility to update the plan as your circumstances change.

Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney designates a trusted person to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Unlike a standard power of attorney, which terminates at incapacity, it remains effective even when you can no longer make decisions yourself.

Medical Power of Attorney and Advance Directive
A medical power of attorney names a healthcare agent to make treatment decisions on your behalf. An advance directive documents your specific treatment preferences. Together, these documents can keep medical decisions in the hands of people you trust rather than leaving those choices to a court.

What We See in Johnson County Probate Court

Our probate practice gives us a direct view of what happens when families arrive at Johnson County Probate Court without a plan in place. Assets not covered by an estate plan typically enter probate and may be subject to liquidation to satisfy debts before anything passes to heirs. Under Texas law, a will must be filed in probate court within four years of the decedent’s death, or it may be treated as void.

A revocable living trust can allow certain assets to bypass probate entirely, passing directly to beneficiaries without court involvement. For families with modest estates, Texas law also provides a small estate affidavit as an alternative to full probate when the estate totals $75,000 or less (excluding homestead and certain exempt property) and no will exists. Planning ahead can expand your options and reduce the burden on the people you leave behind.

Why Burleson Families Choose Coontz Cochran

Attorney Greg Coontz grew up in Burleson, attended Burleson High School, and opened this firm here in 1990. That’s not a marketing detail. It means the attorneys advising your estate plan are the same people who appear in Johnson County courts when estates are administered or contested. Our AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell reflects the highest peer-review score for legal ability and ethical standards, and our inclusion in Texas Super Lawyers places us among the top 5 percent of attorneys in the state.

Pre-printed or online will forms don’t account for the specifics of your family, your assets, or Texas law. Errors in do-it-yourself documents can create complications during estate administration that can cost far more to untangle than a properly drafted plan would have cost in the first place. We build custom plans around each client’s actual circumstances. Attorney Jeff Cochran is also fluent in Spanish, allowing us to serve Spanish-speaking members of the Burleson and Johnson County community.

Schedule Your Free Estate Planning Consultation

Whether you’re drafting your first will or updating a plan after a major life change, the right time to act is before your family needs it.

Call our wills and trusts attorneys at (888) 858-0536 to schedule your free consultation with Coontz Cochran.