Wills, revocable trusts, probate, business succession in Tarrant County.
Top 10 Estate Planning Lawyers in Fort Worth
Texas is one of the few states that still allows muniment of title to clear a will without a full probate administration, which makes Tarrant County estate planning genuinely simpler than what people from other states expect. The harder questions are about trust structure, business succession, and how to keep the family from fighting in Tarrant County Probate Court. The 10 firms below draft wills and trusts every day and probate them in front of the same judges every week.
Updated February 04, 202613 min readEditorially independent
Estate planning work in Fort Worth is governed by the Texas Estates Code, with Tarrant County Probate Court at 100 East Weatherford Street handling the administrations that follow. Texas has no state estate or inheritance tax, but the federal estate-tax exemption ($13.99M per person in 2026 under current law, scheduled to drop after the TCJA sunset) drives most high-net-worth Fort Worth planning. Smaller estates focus on avoiding family fights, sorting business succession for Fort Worth’s many family-owned companies, and minimizing the time and cost of probate.
Every firm below is a Tarrant County Probate Court regular and includes one or more attorneys credentialed in estate-and-trust work. We weighted Texas Board of Legal Specialization estate-planning-and-probate-law certifications, Best Lawyers selections, ACTEC fellowships, Fort Worth Magazine Top Attorney recognition, and Justia and Avvo ratings. Fees in Fort Worth estate work are flat-fee for documents and hourly for complex planning and litigation; we list real ranges next to each firm.
How we picked these 10: We cross-checked published verdicts, Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers selections, Avvo and Justia ratings, peer reviews, and bar-association recognition. Firms that appeared consistently across at least two independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
1
Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
Fort Worth, TXLarge firm
Practice focus: Estate planning, wealth preservation, trust litigation
One of Fort Worth’s largest and oldest law firms. The Estate Planning & Wealth Preservation group handles sophisticated planning for high-net-worth Fort Worth families: GRATs, IDGTs, charitable lead and remainder trusts, family-limited partnerships, business-succession structures. Multiple ACTEC fellows and Best Lawyers selectees on the team.
Practice focus: Trusts & estates planning and litigation
Fort Worth full-service firm with a Trusts & Estate Planning practice handling planning, probate, and trust litigation. The team pairs technical estate-tax expertise with business and financial backgrounds. Comfortable with both planning matters and contested probate.
Practice focus: Estate planning, business succession, oil & gas
120+ year Fort Worth full-service firm with a deep estate-planning practice. Drafts wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, life-insurance trusts, GRATs, charitable trusts, and family-limited partnerships. Strong fit when business succession or oil-and-gas mineral interests are part of the planning.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, trust litigation, guardianship
40+ year Fort Worth boutique focused on estates and probate. Handles planning matters, contested estates, will contests, guardianships, and trust-administration disputes. Useful when the engagement may move from planning to litigation.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, elder law, guardianship
Fort Worth boutique handling planning, probate administration, contested estates, and elder-law matters. Strong fit for older Fort Worth clients who need both planning and Medicaid-eligibility analysis or whose families may face guardianship questions.
Practice focus: Estate planning, revocable trusts, tax planning
Fort Worth estate-planning boutique focused on revocable living trusts, estate-tax avoidance, and family-legacy planning. Modern practice with flat-fee structures on standard documents and an emphasis on plain-English client education.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, business owners
Solo-led Fort Worth practice representing business owners, families, and individuals on probate, wills and trusts, property management, and estate planning. Personal-attention model with direct attorney communication through the engagement.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, guardianship (bilingual)
Bilingual (English/Spanish) Fort Worth estate-planning practice. Drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives. Strong fit for Spanish-speaking families and for cross-border planning where one family member is a non-U.S. citizen or has property in Mexico.
Practice focus: Estate planning + Social Security disability
Fort Worth solo practice combining estate-planning and Social Security disability work. Useful when the planning client is also disabled or has a disabled family member who needs a special-needs trust to preserve benefits eligibility.
Practice focus: Estate planning, charitable planning, business succession
Fort Worth boutique focused on sophisticated estate and charitable planning. The firm has worked with Fort Worth family foundations, multi-generational ranching operations, and closely-held business owners. Strong technical bench on charitable planning and estate-tax minimization.
Your estate is well below the federal exemption ($13.99M in 2026) and your plan is simple. Thomas-Walters, Jane Fowler Law, or Angelica Farinacci. Flat-fee revocable-trust planning at predictable cost.
You own a family business and need succession planning. Decker Jones, Kelly Hart & Hallman, or Bourland Wall & Wenzel. Each has Fort Worth-specific business-succession experience.
You are over the federal exemption and need tax planning. Kelly Hart & Hallman, Cantey Hanger, or Bourland Wall & Wenzel. ACTEC fellows and Best Lawyers selectees on each team.
You have a disabled family member. Carey Thompson Law. Special-needs trusts require coordination with SSI/SSDI benefits eligibility, which is unusual technical ground.
Your case may turn into a will contest or trust dispute. Cantey Hanger or Gordon Sykes. Both run planning alongside contested-probate practice.
You need bilingual representation or have property in Mexico. Angelica Farinacci.
You are older and the plan needs to include Medicaid or guardianship analysis. Grover Loudermilk.
What estate planning costs in Fort Worth
Will-based plan (will, financial POA, medical POA, HIPAA, advance directive). Flat fee $750-$2,500 for an individual; $1,200-$3,500 for a couple at most Fort Worth firms.
Revocable living trust plan (trust, pour-over will, ancillary documents). Flat fee $2,500-$5,500 for an individual; $3,500-$7,500 for a couple. Funding the trust (re-titling assets) adds time and may be billed hourly.
Business-succession planning. $10,000-$60,000+ depending on entity structure, valuation work, and buy-sell agreement complexity.
Probate administration. Independent administration of a Tarrant County estate runs $3,500-$15,000 in attorney fees for non-litigated estates. Contested probate or will contests run $25,000-$200,000+.
Muniment of title. Texas’s simplified probate alternative runs $1,500-$3,500 for a clean will and an estate with no debt.
The Fort Worth estate-planning process
Initial consultation. Most Fort Worth firms run a 30-60 minute consult, paid or free depending on the firm. Bring your existing documents, an inventory of assets, beneficiary designations, and any business interests.
Design phase. 1-3 meetings to lay out the plan: who inherits, who controls, who serves as trustee or executor, what tax-planning structures (if any) apply.
Drafting and review. 2-4 weeks to draft documents, with one or two revision rounds.
Signing ceremony. Texas requires two competent witnesses and a notary for a will to be self-proven. Most Fort Worth firms run signing at the office.
Funding (if a trust is involved). 30-90 days to transfer assets into the trust: real estate, brokerage accounts, business interests. Skipping funding is the most common Fort Worth planning mistake.
Three-year review. Texas estate law and federal estate-tax thresholds change. Review the plan every 3 years and after any major life event.
Red flags when shopping for a Fort Worth estate-planning lawyer
One-size-fits-all template. Texas-specific drafting matters. A national-template plan that does not address Texas community property, Texas homestead, Texas probate procedure, and Texas-specific powers of attorney is a problem.
No funding instructions. A revocable living trust that is not funded does nothing at death. The plan should include explicit funding steps and follow-up.
Push to use the firm as corporate trustee. Some Fort Worth firms steer clients toward affiliated trust companies. That can be appropriate; it can also create a conflict. Ask if the recommended trustee is affiliated with the firm.
Estate tax projections that assume current exemption forever. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act estate-tax exemption is scheduled to revert at the end of 2025 unless Congress acts. Planning that ignores the sunset is incomplete.
Flat fee with no review meeting included. A good Fort Worth estate plan includes at least one review meeting before signing.
What is specific about estate planning in Fort Worth
Texas community property. Property acquired during marriage in Texas is presumptively community property and belongs to both spouses. Separate property requires tracing. Estate planning has to address community-property characterization at the death of the first spouse.
Texas homestead. The Texas Constitution protects the homestead from most creditor claims and limits the surviving spouse’s eviction. A Fort Worth plan that ignores homestead can produce litigation between the surviving spouse and the children from a prior marriage.
Texas independent administration. Texas wills can authorize independent administration, which dramatically simplifies probate by eliminating most court supervision. A well-drafted Tarrant County will should include the independent-administration language.
Tarrant County Probate Court. Probate Courts 1 and 2 at the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building handle decedents’ estates, guardianships, and trust matters. Each judge has tendencies on contested matters; local firms know them.
Texas mineral interests. Many Fort Worth families own oil-and-gas mineral interests. These require specific planning for probate, lease management, and inheritance to multiple heirs. Decker Jones and Kelly Hart are strong on this.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a will or a trust in Fort Worth?
Most Fort Worth families need a will at minimum. A revocable living trust is useful if you own real estate in multiple states, want to avoid probate entirely, have a blended family, have privacy concerns, or have a special-needs beneficiary. For estates under the federal exemption with simple family structures, a will-based plan with Texas independent administration is often enough.
How much does an estate plan cost in Fort Worth?
Will-based plan (will, POAs, advance directive): $750-$2,500 individual, $1,200-$3,500 couple. Revocable trust plan: $2,500-$5,500 individual, $3,500-$7,500 couple. Complex tax planning (ILITs, GRATs, dynasty trusts): $5,000-$25,000+. Business-succession planning: $10,000-$60,000+. Most documents are flat-fee; complex planning is hourly.
Does Texas have an estate tax or inheritance tax?
No. Texas has no state estate tax and no inheritance tax. The federal estate tax applies only to estates above the federal exemption ($13.99M per person in 2026 under current law). The exemption is scheduled to be cut roughly in half at the end of 2025 unless Congress extends the TCJA provisions.
What is independent administration in Texas?
Independent administration is a Texas-specific simplified probate procedure that minimizes court supervision. The executor can sell estate property, pay creditors, and distribute to beneficiaries without filing motions for approval. Texas wills should include the independent-administration language; if they do, Tarrant County probate is much faster and cheaper.
What is muniment of title?
Muniment of title is a Texas-specific simplified probate alternative when there is a valid will, no unpaid debts (other than secured real-estate debt), and no need for ongoing administration. The court orders the will admitted as a muniment of title, which transfers the property without appointing an executor. Quick, cheap, and Texas-unique.
How long does Tarrant County probate take?
Independent administration of an estate without contests: 6-12 months. Muniment of title: 2-4 months. Contested probate or will contests: 12-30+ months. Trust administration (no probate): timing depends on the trust terms but typically 6-18 months for distribution.
Should I avoid probate?
Not always. Texas independent administration is fast and cheap compared to probate in states like California or New York. A revocable trust avoids probate entirely but requires funding and ongoing maintenance. For estates that fit the muniment of title rules, probate is essentially trivial. Talk to a Fort Worth lawyer about whether trust-based avoidance is worth the additional cost in your case.
What happens if I die without a will in Texas?
Texas intestacy statutes (Estates Code Chapter 201) distribute the estate to the surviving spouse and children, with specific community-property and separate-property rules. The intestacy result is often not what people would have chosen. Without a will, a Tarrant County probate court must appoint an administrator (dependent administration with bond), which is slower and more expensive than independent administration under a will.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one the same question: How many matters like mine have you handled in the last three years, and what is the realistic range of outcomes? The answer tells you most of what you need to know. — The LawFirmSquare team
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