Creating a comprehensive and cohesive estate plan is the most precious gift you can give to yourself and your loved ones. A well thought out estate plan can accomplish a number of important goals, including creating a framework for the division of your estate assets upon your death, protecting you and your family in the event of your incapacity, and ensuring that your loved ones are provided for when you are gone.  Given the importance of your estate plan, choosing the right estate planning attorney to help you create that plan should be given considerable thought and care. If you are a resident of West University Place, Texas the estate planning attorneys at The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. would appreciate the opportunity to work with you in the creation of an estate plan that achieves all your estate planning goals.

West University Place, Texas

Located in southwestern Harris County, Texas, West University Place is a bedroom community comprised of approximately 15,000 residents as of the 2010 Census.

West University Place, also known as West University or West U, was developed in 1917 by Ben Hooper, a former Tennessee governor. The name “West University Place” originated from its proximity to Rice Institute, now known as Rice University. Portions of West University were previously within the Harris County Poor farm, which extended from an area between Bellaire Boulevard and Bissonnet Street, eastward to an area near the “poor farm ditch.”

In the 1920s, Lillian “Lilly” Nicholson, a Rice University English major, lived with a friend whose father was a city planner. The city planner asked Nicholson and her friend to name the streets of West University Place. Nicholson took names from her English literature book and gave them to the streets in West University Place. As a result, many West University streets are named after authors, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Dryden, and William Shakespeare.

In 1924, West University Place decided to incorporate because Houston was reluctant to extend power lines that far from the city center. Because of the 1923 incorporation, Houston did not incorporate West University Place’s territory into its city limits. In 1939, the municipality refused to consolidate, instead adopting a formal city charter the following year. Prior to 1992 West University Place liberalized its development rules. This allowed developers to build new houses within the city. As new houses appeared, property values increased and the city began to get more tax money. In 2011, the group On Numbers ranked West U as the community in the Southern United States with the highest quality of life and was later ranked number one in a comparison of regional winners.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. in the West University Place, Texas Community

Estate planning encompasses much more than just deciding what will happen to your assets when you are gone. It should also protect those assets and help them grow while you are alive as well ensure that they continue to provide for your loved ones when you are gone. Creating such an estate plan requires the assistance of an experienced estate planning attorney. At The Mendel Law Firm, L.P., our goal is to help our friends and neighbors in the West University Place community to create an estate plan that accomplishes all of their goals.

Estate planning is unique within the law in that, unlike most other legal matter you undertake, estate planning is not something that is ever truly finished.  On the contrary, estate planning is a lifelong process that works best when you establish a solid relationship with your estate planning attorney. Initially, your primary goal will likely be to ensure that you do not leave behind an intestate estate in the event of your death.  As both your estate and your family grow, however, your estate plan will need to grow along with them. As your estate grows in both complexity and value, you should consider adding probate and tax avoidance as well as asset protection strategies to your overall estate plan. Marriage will likely trigger the need to include a spouse as a beneficiary and/or fiduciary within your estate plan. Parenthood calls for changes that will ensure your minor child’s inheritance is protected if something happens to you. Incapacity planning will also take on a heightened importance once you have a family to consider as will planning for the future with retirement planning. Unique needs, such as special needs planning, business succession planning, or pet planning will also be incorporated into your estate plan to create a customized estate plan that achieves all of your estate planning goals. By middle age, you should also be thinking about long-term care planning which may include Medicaid planning. Finally, you may wish to consider adding advanced directives as well as funeral and burial planning to your estate plan to ensure that your wishes will be honored at the end of your life.  At The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. our goal is to establish a lifelong relationship with you to ensure that your estate planning needs are met now, and in the years to come.

Contact Us

If you have specific questions regarding your estate plan, contact the experienced West University Place, Texas estate planning attorneys at The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. by calling (281) 759-3213 to schedule your appointment today.