Alers Law · Estate Planning · PHYSICIANS
Estate Planning for Physicians and Medical Professionals in Texas
You spend your days protecting other people’s families. Let’s build a plan that protects yours, and the practice you may have built.
Serving clients across Texas: in person in Dallas, Frisco and throughout Dallas–Fort Worth, or by secure video anywhere in the state.
Not just documents. A strategy for everything you’ve built.
The discovery call is a fit check, with no legal advice.
Dallas · Frisco · Denton · Statewide by videoWho this is for
Physicians and medical professionals with a family, and maybe a practice.
Physician with a high income
Young children, and a will that is old or does not exist.
Practice owner
Unsure what happens to their ownership interest if they die or become disabled.
Surgeon or physician with long hours
Who has never named an agent for financial or medical decisions.
Couple with one physician
The other spouse manages the household, and both want clarity about each other’s role.
Resident or early-career doctor
With student debt, new life insurance and new family obligations.
Know the gaps
What can go wrong without a plan
Five gaps that busy professionals often leave open.
- Your family may face court process
Without a trust or clear documents, assets can end up delayed in court.
- Incapacity may leave no one in charge
A busy professional can become unable to act with no agent named, which can leave bills, accounts and decisions stuck.
- A trust alone won’t shield you from your own creditors
A revocable living trust does not protect your assets from your own creditors. Protection is a separate planning question.
- Your practice may not pass the way you assume
Ownership of a medical practice entity may be restricted to licensed professionals, so a spouse or child may not be able to simply step in.
- Children may inherit outright
A young beneficiary receiving everything at once, or a guardian never named, can leave a family exposed.
At a glance
Layers of protection under Texas law
Texas law generally protects some assets more than others. Here is how the layers fit, and what a revocable trust does not do.
What a plan for you can include
Built from the pieces your situation needs.
Revocable living trust and pour-over will
A foundation for your family and personal assets.
Incapacity planning
Durable and medical powers of attorney, HIPAA authorization and directive to physicians, so someone you trust can act quickly.
Asset protection strategies
Within what Texas law allows. Texas homestead rights and certain retirement accounts and life insurance cash values generally receive strong protection under Texas law, though results depend on the facts and are never guaranteed.
Practice succession coordination
We plan with your business attorney for how a practice interest should be handled.
Family protection
Guardian designations and trusts for children, with a trustee managing funds until the ages you choose.
Home transfer strategy
Trust deed, TODD or lady bird deed where appropriate.
Beneficiary coordination
Retirement accounts, life insurance and disability or other policies, aligned with your plan.
Not sure what you need?
Take our two-minute Will or Trust quiz and see which structure may fit your family.
Take the quizClear scope
What we do, and what we don’t.
What we do
- Draft wills, trusts, powers of attorney, HIPAA and directives
- Plan asset protection strategies within what Texas law allows
- Plan for incapacity and for guardianship of children
- Coordinate with your CPA, financial advisor and business attorney on practice interests
- Help fund your trust after signing
What we don’t do
- Act as your CPA or prepare tax returns
- Give securities or investment advice
- Coordinate or advise on malpractice insurance
- Handle corporate transactional work or probate administration
- Replace your CPA, financial advisor or business attorney
We’ll tell you what’s outside our scope and coordinate with the right professional.
Bring this to your session
Your physician estate plan checklist
- Current will or trust and date signed
- Guardian named for minor children
- Trust planned for children’s inheritance
- Durable power of attorney signed
- Medical power of attorney, HIPAA authorization and directive to physicians signed
- Practice entity documents and your ownership percentage located
- Practice succession discussed with your business attorney
- Beneficiary forms for retirement accounts reviewed
- Life insurance beneficiaries and owners reviewed
- Disability insurance noted for your agent
- Homestead and home deed strategy reviewed
- Understand what a revocable trust does and does not protect
- Spouse’s role and community property questions discussed
- Accounts, passwords and key contacts listed for your agent
- Review date set for every three years or after major life events
How it works
Five clear steps, from first conversation to signing.
Alers Legacy Strategy Session
We discuss your family, your practice and your concerns.
Legacy Design Meeting
We design your plan, including incapacity planning and protection strategies.
Precision Drafting
Your documents are drafted for your situation.
Legacy Walkthrough
We review each document with you in plain English.
Legacy Signing Ceremony
You sign, and we help you fund your trust.
Plans are quoted as one flat fee after the first meeting.
Optional · After signing
Legacy Circle
An optional annual membership that keeps your plan current as life changes.
- Annual check-in
- Power of attorney refresh every three years
- Secure digital storage of your documents
- Annual meeting with your CPA or financial advisor about your plan
- Member webinars
- Member pricing on future updates
Your attorney
Meet your attorney.
Attorney Beverly Alers has been licensed since 2012, holds a J.D. cum laude and an LL.M. in Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, and is bilingual in English and Spanish (Abogada Alers).
Serving clients across Texas. In person at our Frisco and Denton offices by appointment, or by secure video anywhere in the state. Se habla español. (469) 207-1515
FAQs
Questions we hear.
Does a living trust protect my assets from lawsuits?
No. A revocable living trust does not protect your assets from your own creditors. It helps with management and with avoiding some court process. Protection planning is a separate step.
What does Texas law generally protect?
Texas homestead rights, and certain retirement accounts and life insurance cash values, generally receive strong protection under Texas law. Limits and exceptions exist, so we review your facts. No protection is guaranteed.
Can my spouse inherit my medical practice?
Ownership of a medical practice entity may be restricted to licensed professionals, so a non-licensed spouse may not be able to hold it. Succession needs planning with your business attorney.
Do you advise on malpractice insurance?
No, that is outside our scope. We can note it for your insurance advisor.
What if I become disabled?
A durable power of attorney and medical documents let a person you choose act for you without a court process. We help you choose agents and draft the authority.
Do you give tax advice?
No. We coordinate with your CPA and financial advisor.
Do you handle probate?
We do not handle probate administration. Planning may help reduce what your family faces.
Can we meet around my schedule?
Yes. We serve clients anywhere in Texas by secure video, and meet in person in Dallas–Fort Worth at our Frisco and Denton offices by appointment.
Start with a conversation
You plan carefully for your patients. Plan just as carefully for your family.
Your Alers Legacy Strategy Session is where we begin.
Or call (469) 207-1515 · Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
General information about Texas law, not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.