FAQs

Kathryn Clements is the founder of Steadfast Estate Planning, PLLC. Her practice is dedicated to assisting individuals and families in making critical decisions today in order to prevent avoidable distress and conflict in the future. Recognizing the complexities of the estate planning journey, she adeptly navigates her clients through the process, ensuring their loved ones are cared for and their final wishes are honored. 

Kathryn received her Bachelor of Science in Business with an emphasis on Entrepreneurial Management from Texas Christian University’s M.J. Neeley School of Business. She received her Juris Doctor from Louisiana State University obtaining an additional Degree in Comparative Law.

After working in a traditional law firm focused exclusively on estate planning, Kathryn identified a need in the market for busy families who know they need to get their affairs in order but who don’t have the time to dedicate to multiple appointments requiring travel and childcare arrangements. She launched Steadfast Estate Planning in order to serve this demand and now helps families to obtain peace of mind around planning for their families without disrupting their busy schedules and lives. She genuinely enjoys educating families and individuals in her community around this important topic. 

Kathryn is licensed to practice law in Texas and Louisiana but is currently only accepting clients who are residents of Texas. 

In her spare time, Kathryn enjoys cycling, traveling and spending time with her family.

We’ve crafted a convenient 3-step process to facilitate the drafting and signing of your trust and other essential estate planning documents within a span of 4-6 weeks:

1. Peace of Mind Planning Session: Begin by booking your Peace of Mind Planning Session. Before your initial meeting, you’ll fill out a confidential online questionnaire we have coined the “Family Profile.” This will enable us to make the most of our time together.  

During the Zoom session, you’ll be advised on the array of options available to you and you’ll learn about our transparent flat fee pricing structure. If and when you’re prepared to move forward, we’ll promptly email you an engagement letter and invoice—both of which can be easily completed online.

2. Estate Plan Design Meeting: The Design Meeting is the next step in the process. At this meeting we’ll collaborate on designing your trust and other crucial estate planning documents, utilizing the information you provided in your Family Profile. Approximately two weeks following this meeting we’ll draft your documents and send a copy for your review. Your feedback will be incorporated, and we’ll make any necessary changes or updates. Once everything is to your satisfaction, we’ll arrange an in-person Signing Ceremony at your home.

3. Signing Ceremony: The Signing Ceremony marks the conclusion of the process. In order to make the Signing Ceremony as easy as possible, a mobile notary and two witnesses will arrive at your home at your requested appointment time. Rest assured, our mobile notary is a trusted, reliable and capable partner. After the execution of your documents, the mobile notary will mail them back to our office, where we will promptly scan them to maintain a secure digital copy. We will then assemble your completed Estate Planning Portfolio. This portfolio will be promptly mailed to you via FedEx. It’s as easy as that!

At your Peace of Mind Planning Session, attorney Kathryn Clements will not only help you understand your options. She will actually listen to you regarding your family dynamics and your concerns, valuing your perspective and ensuring all your questions are addressed. It is of paramount importance to us that you feel heard and that you understand each option so that you can decide which option is best for your unique family situation.

We’ll also review our process, our flat fees and our overall client experience, ensuring you have a clear understanding of your investment and what you will receive.

When you are ready to move forward, whether at your Peace of Mind Planning Session, or at a later time, just let us know. We’ll send you an engagement letter via DocuSign and an invoice via our secure online payment provider, LawPay. Once these housekeeping items are taken care of, you’ll schedule your Estate Plan Design Meeting.

Let’s start what we do NOT need! We do NOT need account statements, social security numbers, or tax returns.

We DO need information on what kind of assets you own (house, retirement account, life insurance, etc.), their approximate value, and how they are titled (jointly, individually, etc.). 

Beyond that, we simply need answers to questions about your personal estate planning preferences, including:

• Who you would want raising your minor children if something happened to you and your spouse or partner.
• Who you want to be in charge of your children’s money until they are old enough to mange it themselves.
• Who you want making medical and financial decisions for you in the event of your incapacity.

No need to worry if you don’t have the answers to these questions right away! You’ll have plenty of time to carefully consider and address them throughout the process.

Estate planning is simply the process of getting legal documents in place so that the individuals you prefer are appointed to take care of you, your children, your assets and your finances in the event of your death or incapacity. The process also involves naming the individuals you want to inherit your assets upon your passing. An “estate plan” is simply a bundle of all of the documents needed to accomplish these objectives.

Even if you don’t currently have a will or a trust, it’s important to recognize that you do indeed have an estate plan in place—it’s just the plan that the state of Texas has decided for you! Each state has a default plan regarding what will happen to your assets and your family in the event of your incapacity or death. That’s the plan you have now. 

Estate planning involves the deliberate act of “opting out” of this default plan and “opting in” to the preferences that reflect your wishes based upon your unique family dynamics.

It depends! Estate planning is not one size fits all, so it’s hard for us to give you a quote without knowing more about you. That would be like asking someone to paint your house without them having first seen the house. How big is your house? What type of paint is required? Is work required to prepare the house before painting it? Even if you believe your situation is relatively straightforward, there are likely nuances you have yet to consider.

We discuss our fees and process at length in the Peace of Mind Planning Session, after we have counseled you on all your options. We do not discuss our fees outside the Peace of Mind Planning Session.

We understand that cost is an important factor in choosing an attorney, and that for many, estate planning is a significant investment. For that reason, we offer flat fees as opposed to billing by the hour, so that you know the exact dollar amount of your investment down to the penny before making a decision.

Our process is designed to ensure that you have your executed Estate Planning Portfolio in hand within a span of 4-6 weeks after your Peace of Mind Planning Session. Of course, this timeline is dependent on your availability and the time you need to review the draft of documents we will send for your review. 

No. Wills, trusts and other estate planning documents must be executed according to the formalities of state law in order to be valid. This means you must sign your documents in person, in the presence of a notary and two witnesses. The role of the notary is to confirm your identity and the role of the witnesses is to confirm you are lucid and not under duress. Any future changes to your documents will need to be executed with the same legal formalities.

Conveniently, this can be done from the comfort of your own home as we provide a notary and two witnesses (complimentary with any of our estate planning packages) to arrive at your home at your chosen appointment time.

We purposefully limit the clientele we take on each month in order to provide an elevated level of service to every family we work with. We take on clients who value our advice and who are seeking a long-term working relationship. If your primary concern is cost, you are not invested in understanding your options or you are not prepared to complete the Family Profile before our session, then we are not the right law firm for you. However, we would be happy to refer you to an attorney that might be a better fit.

When it comes to estate planning, there are two main options: a will-based plan or a living trust-based plan. After being educated on the pros and cons of each option, the vast majority of our clients opt for a living trust-based plan.

A living trust is a legal document through which you appoint a trusted individual to manage your assets in case of your incapacity and distribute them to your beneficiaries upon your death. It is highly preferred over a will-based plan because it is designed to avoid the time, cost and public nature of probate, which a will cannot accomplish. This comes as a surprise to most of our clients. We always say, “where there’s a will, there’s a probate.” We will discuss wills vs. trusts in depth during your Peace of Mind Planning Session. The most common question we get after this explanation is “Why would anyone ever opt for a will?”

Ultimately, however, our goal is simply to educate and empower you to make the right choice for you and your family. If you determine a will-based plan is the best course of action, we are happy to help you get a will-based plan in place.

Probate is the court-supervised process of administering your estate upon your death. If you die without a will, your estate must go through probate before your assets can be distributed to your heirs. And, if you die WITH a will…your estate will still have to go through probate! The only way to avoid probate is by establishing a revocable living trust. 

What’s so undesirable about probate? Even a straightforward probate can span several years and deplete a considerable portion of your estate’s assets during the process. It’s also a public legal process, exposing your will to anyone interested in what you had at the time of your death and leaving your children vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals who might seek to prey on their windfall. You also cannot delay the distribution of assets to your children beyond the age of 18 with a will.

While a will is subject to probate, a revocable living trust will bypass this process entirely. 

Unfortunately, even a simple will is subject to the expense and delays of probate. The issue lies not in the complexity of the document, but rather the probate process itself. For this reason, most of our clients opt for establishing a living trust as opposed to a will. The living trust is designed for simplicity and serves to entirely circumvent the probate process. However, as part of an overall, comprehensive estate plan, a special “pour-over” will is used to appoint guardians for your minor children upon your death with a trust-based plan as well.

No! Let’s debunk one of the most common myths regarding estate planning. The need for estate planning is in no way dependent on whether or not you have a substantial financial portfolio, whether or not you are married or whether or not you are a parent. 

Estate planning involves executing legal documents that will ensure your hard earned assets will transfer to the people you wish to have them in the most seamless way. It is about making things as easy as possible for your loved ones during an already challenging time. This is important regardless of how much or how little a person has.

Estate planning is also about appointing the right people to manage your property and to make health care decisions for you if you are incapacitated. Again, this is something that matters to all of us regardless of wealth status.

A financial power of attorney enables you to appoint someone to manage your property should you become incapacitated and be unable to do so for yourself. This person, whom you deeply trust, is appointed as your “agent” and steps in to handle various responsibilities like bill payments, tax filings, business management and more on your behalf.

A medical power of attorney enables you to appoint someone you trust to make medical decisions for you should you be unable to do so.

A directive to physicians (sometimes referred to as a living will but not to be confused with a living trust or a last will and testament) enables you to make certain medical decisions concerning end-of-life choices. This is a gift you give your loved ones because you are taking the burden of these difficult decisions off of their shoulders and simply making the decision now. By making these choices while you are in good health and of sound mind, you ensure your loved ones won’t have to second-guess what you would want or worry about making the right decision for you.

Yes! I am happy to have a brief, complimentary call with you before you schedule your Peace of Mind Planning Session. While we do not discuss fees outside of the Peace of Mind Planning Session, I am happy to answer any basic questions you may have about our unique virtual process.

Not a problem! A living trust can be amended or revoked as long as the person who created it is alive and has mental capacity to do so.

Along with every living trust we draft, is an accompanying document called a “pour-over will.” It is in this document that you will nominate guardians for your minor children (if applicable). These guardians can also be updated easily by using a “codicil” to your pour-over will.

When it comes to other estate planning documents such as financial powers of attorney or medical powers of attorney, it is typically more cost-effective to simply recreate them. 

The key takeaway is that your documents can, and likely will, be updated as your life, assets and the law all change.

Yes! In some ways, having a comprehensive estate plan is even more crucial for individuals who are not married.

Many non-married people often have specific wishes to direct their assets to charities and close friends, rather than their most immediate living relative. However, without a proper estate plan in place, your assets could fall into the hands of a distant relative you may barely know or one you would never choose to receive them for personal reasons.

Equally as important is ensuring you have both a medical and financial power of attorney in place so that a trusted individual you choose can legally help you and make decisions for you should you become incapacitated. This is even more important for someone who does not have a spouse who would otherwise be the obvious choice to fill those roles.

Excellent question! I have yet to come across any parent who actually wants this for their child upon turning 18. However, 18 is the legal age at which a person is entitled to inherit, and thus, this is the state’s default plan for your child in such a situation.

The good news is that by establishing a revocable living trust, you can opt for a later age for your children to receive their inheritance, or possibly have it distributed to them in different stages when they hit certain ages throughout their life. 

We have many options regarding how to avoid this which we can discuss at your Peace of Mind Planning Session.

You nominate legal guardians in a Will, or a Pour-Over Will that goes along with your Revocable Living Trust. If you pass away without nominating guardians, a judge will make the decision for you. This could lead to family members arguing and vying for custody simply because you didn’t make your preferences clear. 

Our firm takes the extra precaution of helping you to nominate temporary short-term guardians as well as permanent long-term guardians. Your long-term guardians might not be local and if a temporary short-term guardian is not named, this could lead to your children temporarily being taken into protective custody at a time when a traumatic event is already unfolding for them. However, nominating someone local that your children are comfortable with to temporarily take custody in the event of your incapacity or death until your long-term guardians can get to your kids, will prevent this scenario.

We can also help you to “confidentially exclude” anyone you absolutely wouldn’t want to become guardians of your children. This is sometimes even more important than who you nominate to be their guardian as it can prevent someone you know would not be a suitable choice from raising your child should something happen to you. The excluded person will not know that they’ve been excluded unless they are vying for custody of your children before a judge, at which point it will become crystal clear that they will not be appointed as guardian.

You can. However, bear in mind that Legal Zoom and law firms are two different services, hence the difference in cost. 

Legal Zoom provides templates for self-completion and execution, functioning more as a document service rather than a law firm. They do not give legal advice. 

An attorney offers personalized guidance and legal advice tailored to your unique circumstances. They will educate you on all options available to you, customize your documents according to your preferences, ensure your documents are executed with the proper formalities and address all of your questions. If these things are important to you, you should work with an attorney. If they are not, Legal Zoom might be a suitable choice.

Estate planning is an area of the law that is state-specific. That means you should work with an attorney licensed in the state in which you reside. Our attorneys are licensed in Texas and Louisiana. However, presently we are accepting clients exclusively from Texas. If you reside in Texas, we are happy to help you to prepare your estate plan. If you reside outside of Texas, just send us a message and we will be happy to refer you to an attorney licensed in your state who also focuses their practice exclusively on estate planning matters.