Building a will or trust in San Antonio? The right plan saves your family weeks of probate.
A good estate plan in San Antonio runs three deep: a will, durable powers of attorney for finances and health, and — if your estate is more than a house and a few accounts — a revocable trust to keep it out of Bexar County probate. The right lawyer will not sell you what you don't need. The wrong one will sell you a $5,000 trust package when a $500 will would do.
These ten San Antonio estate planning firms handle wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, elder law, probate, and high-net-worth planning. Several attorneys on this list are Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization — a designation fewer than 1% of Texas lawyers hold.
How we picked these 10: We reviewed published rankings (Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Texas Board of Legal Specialization where applicable, Florida Bar Board Certifications where applicable, Avvo), bar association recognition, and patterns in independent directory listings (Justia, FindLaw, Expertise). Firms that appeared consistently across at least two independent sources made the list. We do not accept payment for placement. We do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology →
Practice focus: Wills, trusts, probate, guardianship, elder law
Amber Ramsey has been named a Texas Super Lawyer every year since 2019. 15+ years of estate-planning practice. Offers complimentary phone, Zoom, and in-person consultations — unusual for the area.
Practice focus: Wills, trusts, probate, business-succession planning
Charlie Weisinger is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Practice covers both individual estate plans and business-succession matters for closely held San Antonio companies.
Practice focus: Estate planning, trusts, elder law, Medicaid, probate
Paul Premack is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a Super Lawyer. Particular strength in elder-law planning — Medicaid, long-term care, asset protection — for clients approaching or in retirement.
Practice focus: High-net-worth estate planning, trusts, probate, business-succession
Tanya E. Feinleib has been Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law since 2016 and leads sophisticated planning work at the firm. Best for high-net-worth San Antonio families and business owners.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, trust administration, asset protection
Omar J. Leal leads the Estate Planning and Probate Group at Branscomb's San Antonio office. Multi-office Texas firm (Austin, Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio) with depth in probate litigation when planning isn't enough.
Practice focus: Estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney
San Antonio boutique focused on building tailored estate plans for individuals and families. Smaller caseload typically means faster turnaround and direct attorney access without going through intake staff.
Practice focus: Wills, trusts, probate, family-law overlap
Three decades of San Antonio practice covering both family and estate planning. Useful when your matter blends both — for instance, when a divorce or remarriage requires a complete estate-plan rewrite.
Practice focus: Wills, trusts, probate, guardianship, SSDI overlap
Better known for Social Security Disability, Heard & Smith also runs a respected San Antonio estate-planning and probate practice. Useful overlap if you need both an estate plan and SSDI representation in one place.
Practice focus: Estate planning, trusts, business succession, tax planning
Texas-wide full-service firm. The San Antonio office's estate planning attorneys handle sophisticated planning for high-net-worth individuals and family-owned businesses where tax planning is the driver.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, business and real estate overlap
James C. Woo handles estate planning at the firm. Six-decade San Antonio firm with broad transactional roots — useful when estate planning intersects with closely held business interests or real estate holdings.
Tell us about your matter and we'll match you with vetted Estate Planning attorneys in San Antonio. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Request Free Consultation →Will and basic plan: 2-4 weeks from intake to signing. Trust package: 4-8 weeks. Probate of a will in Bexar County: 6 months minimum, 12-18 months typical. Trust administration (no probate): 6-12 months.
Simple will package (will, powers of attorney, medical directive): $400-$1,200 flat fee. Revocable living trust: $1,500-$4,000 for an individual, $2,500-$6,000 for a married couple. High-net-worth planning (multi-generational trusts, irrevocable trusts, business-succession): $5,000-$25,000+. Probate of a typical Bexar County estate: $3,000-$10,000.
Bexar County probate courts. San Antonio has dedicated probate courts (Bexar County Probate Court Nos. 1 and 2). Judges and staff there are familiar with Texas independent administration, which is the fastest probate path in the country when the will is drafted correctly.
Texas has no state estate or inheritance tax. But the federal estate tax exemption ($13.61M in 2024, per person) is scheduled to drop in 2026 absent congressional action. San Antonio estate lawyers are revisiting plans now in advance of that sunset.
Community property planning. Texas is a community property state. The right lawyer drafts the will, trust, and beneficiary designations to play well with community-property step-up rules — easy to miss if your prior plan was drafted out of state.
Military and veterans' benefits planning. Joint Base San Antonio drives a steady stream of veterans' planning work. A few firms on this list have particular experience layering VA Aid & Attendance, Medicaid, and SECURE Act retirement rules.
The right pick isn't the firm with the most billboards. It's the one whose specific experience matches your specific facts. Three filters to apply, in order:
Filter 1: Is your case in their sweet spot? A boutique that wins 80% of its straightforward cases may not be the right pick for a complex matter. A national firm with thousands of cases may not give a routine matter the attention it needs. Read each firm's "Practice focus" line above and match it to your facts.
Filter 2: Who, by name, will handle your case? The intake call may be with a senior partner; the day-to-day work may go to an associate or paralegal. Ask in writing who will be assigned, and how often you can expect updates. The answer tells you almost everything about how the firm is structured.
Filter 3: How do they explain the realistic range of outcomes? A good lawyer gives you a range and the assumptions behind it. A bad one promises the high end. The bad-promise pattern is a real-time red flag, regardless of advertising spend.
Most San Antonio Estate Planning firms are competent. A few are not. The patterns that should make you walk away:
Guaranteed outcomes. No ethical attorney can guarantee a result. If a firm promises a specific recovery, dismissal, or settlement amount on the first call, walk away.
The disappearing partner. You meet a senior partner at intake; then you never speak to them again. Ask in writing who your day-to-day attorney will be.
Pressure to sign immediately. Reputable firms give you the retainer or fee agreement in writing, time to read it, and the option to take it home. High-pressure intake is almost always a sign of a volume mill.
No verifiable track record. Specific verdicts, settlements, peer rankings, or bar association recognition are evidence. "We've helped thousands of clients" is marketing copy.
Vague fee terms. Every legitimate San Antonio lawyer gives you a written engagement letter with the fee, what's covered, what triggers extra charges, and what happens if you fire them. Get it before you sign.
Most of the firms on this list offer a free initial consultation. Use it. Bring a list of questions and write down the answers. Compare across at least two firms before you sign.
Tell us about your situation. We'll match you with the right Estate Planning attorney in San Antonio. Free, confidential, no obligation.
A will is enough if your estate is mostly real estate held in Texas (where independent administration is fast), retirement accounts (which pass by beneficiary), and joint accounts. A trust is worth the extra cost if you own out-of-state property, you want to keep details private, or your family situation is complex (blended family, minor or special-needs beneficiaries, non-citizen spouse).
$400-$1,200 flat fee for a will, durable POA, medical POA, HIPAA release, and a declaration of guardian for minor children. That package covers most San Antonio families. Trust packages start around $1,500.
Yes — if your will authorizes it. Independent administration lets the executor handle the estate with minimal court supervision after the will is admitted. It saves months and thousands compared to dependent administration.
A short will used alongside a revocable trust. Anything not titled into the trust at death 'pours over' into the trust through the will. Belt-and-suspenders structure.
Yes. Without a durable financial POA, if you become incapacitated, your family will have to seek guardianship through Bexar County court — slow, expensive, and public. A $50 form prevents it.
6 months minimum (creditor notice period). 12-18 months typical for an independent administration with a clean will. Longer for dependent administrations or contested estates.
Intestate succession statutes kick in. Your assets pass to your spouse, children, parents, and siblings in a fixed formula that is rarely what you'd have chosen. Community-property rules add complexity for blended families.
Yes. Out-of-state plans rarely account for Texas's community-property regime, independent administration option, or homestead protections. A San Antonio attorney can usually update an existing plan rather than starting over — and it's worth the spend.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Read the reviews. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one: How many cases like mine have you taken to verdict or won at settlement in the last three years? The answer tells you everything. — The LawFirmSquare team