Creating your estate plan is one of the most important projects you will embark upon during your lifetime. It is also a highly personal endeavor that involves divulging sensitive personal and financial information to your estate planning attorney. It is important, therefore, that you choose to work with an estate planning attorney with whom you feel comfortable and confident. At the Houston, Texas Mendel Law Firm, L.P. we understand how important your estate plan is to you and your family. We have been helping people just like you throughout the Houston area with their estate planning needs for many years and we would be honored to have the opportunity to help you with yours.
Houston’s History
As most Texans know, the State of Texas has a rich, and colorful history. The area now known as Houston was inhabited by various Native American Indian tribes for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1500s. From that time until the middle of the 19th century, all, or part, of what is now the State of Texas was claimed by five countries: France, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and the United States of America as well as the Confederate States of America.
Unlike most cities that slowly evolve from a small settlement into an actual city, the modern day City of Houston was actually a planned city that was founded in 1836 by two New York real estate entrepreneurs, Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen. The two purchased just over 6,000 acres of land along Buffalo Bayou with plans to build a city. They named their new city “Houston” after Sam Houston, the popular general at the Battle of San Jacinto. Houston’s location so close to the port of Galveston made the fledgling city prosper as both a center of trade and eventually the railroad center of Texas. Both shipbuilding during the war years, and the discovery of oil in the area, caused Houston to grow by leaps and bounds throughout the 20th century despite several natural disasters in the form of hurricanes and other devastating storms that threatened the city.
Houston, Texas Today
Today, the City of Houston has the honor of being the most populous city in the entire State of Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States. The city now covers just under 600 square miles and is home to 2.239 million residents according to the 2014 Census. The city is home to numerous companies in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation industries as well as healthcare and, of course, oil. Only New York City has more Fortune 500 headquarters within its city limits. Both the shipping industry and the sheer number of international companies located in Houston have made Houston the most culturally diverse city in Texas and one of the most diverse in all of the U.S. In fact, over 90 languages can be heard throughout the City of Houston. Given the city’s proximity to the Mexican border, it comes as no surprise that there is a significant Hispanic population in the city; however, there is also an above average Asian population and as many as 15 percent of the city’s population identified with “other” race on the most recent Census.
Given the sheer size of Houston it should come a no surprise that the city has something to offer just about everyone – residents and visitors alike. Annual events include such diverse offerings as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Houston Pride Parade, the Houston International Festival, and the Bayou Art Festival. Some of the more popular sites to visit in Houston include NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, The Downtown Aquarium and The Galleria (Texas’s biggest shopping center). The Theatre district takes up a 17 block area of downtown and is home to numerous boutique shops, parks, restaurants, and the Bayou Place entertainment complex. Sports, of course, are also big in Houston given the fact that the city is home to the Houston Astros (MLB), the Houston Rockets (NBA), the Houston Texans (NFL), the Houston Dynamo (MLS), and the Houston Dash (NWSL).
The Mendel Law Firm is in the Houston Community
Founding partner Stephen A. Mendel is a lifelong Texan, early his undergraduate degree in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin and completing his legal studies at South Texas College of Law 1987. Attorney Mendel made the decision many years ago to focus his legal talents on helping his Houston friends and neighbors with legal issues relating to wills, trusts, and estates, incapacity planning, retirement planning, and other closely related matters.
At the Mendel Law Firm, we understand how difficult it can be to share your personal needs and wishes with a stranger which is why we strive to develop ongoing relationships with our clients. Estate planning is not something that is accomplished in a single meeting. On the contrary, your estate plan should be reviewed and modified as you pass through the various stages of your life and events transpire that should warrant changes to your plan. We want to be there with you for all those important events to be sure your estate plan reflects the changes in your life.
In addition, estate planning should be comprehensive in nature, incorporating additional components into the plan such as incapacity planning, retirement and Medicaid planning, and tax and probate avoidance strategies. Your plan should also be individualized to include components that apply to you and your specific needs, such as special needs planning, business succession planning, or pet planning. The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. would be honored to be your choice to help you with your unique estate planning needs.
Contact An Experienced Estate Planning Attorney Today
If you would like to get started on your estate plan, contact the experienced Texas estate planning attorneys at The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. by calling (281) 759-3213 to schedule your appointment today.
