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Estate and legacy planning is deciding, in writing and ahead of time, who inherits what you've built, who acts for you if you can't act for yourself, and how each account transfers. For most Texas households it comes down to four pieces: a will (and sometimes a trust), a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, and beneficiary designations — which override your will.
Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherit an IRA from an owner who died on or after January 1, 2020 must fully empty the account by December 31 of the tenth year after the death — the old lifetime 'stretch' is gone. Whether annual withdrawals are also required in years one through nine depends on whether the original owner had already started required minimum distributions. Spouses and a few other categories are exempt.
A will directs who inherits your probate assets, names an executor, and is validated publicly through probate court. A revocable living trust holds assets you retitle into it during your lifetime and — when properly funded — passes them privately, outside probate. In Texas, where probate is unusually streamlined, the State Bar itself warns that 'everyone needs a living trust' is a misleading sales pitch. Which one fits is an attorney's call, made on specific factors.