Silverleaf Legal Group, PLLC

Silverleaf Legal Group, PLLC Silverleaf Legal Group, PLLC is in Cedar Park, Texas, providing representation for Estate Planning

Most eighteen year olds do not think about who can pay their rent if they end up in the hospital. Parents often assume t...
09/03/2026

Most eighteen year olds do not think about who can pay their rent if they end up in the hospital. Parents often assume they can still step in and handle a checking account or a phone bill if their child cannot. Once a child turns eighteen, that assumption is usually wrong. Banks and schools treat an adult child as their own legal person, regardless of who is paying the tuition. A financial power of attorney allows a parent to step in only when it is actually needed. It does not take away the young adult's independence. It simply creates a bridge for the moments that catch every family off guard. What would happen if your student needed help managing money while they were away at school?

Most people who write their own will believe they have covered everything. Online templates make the process feel simple...
09/01/2026

Most people who write their own will believe they have covered everything. Online templates make the process feel simple, sometimes even quick enough to finish in an evening. The trouble usually surfaces only after the person who wrote it has passed away. A single missing witness signature or an unclear clause can send a straightforward estate into a contested probate case. Families often discover the gap at the worst possible time, while grieving and trying to settle affairs. A document that looks complete on paper does not always hold up the way its author intended. We have seen families spend far more resolving a flawed DIY will than a properly drafted one would have cost. If your will were read today, are you confident it says exactly what you intend?

Most parents do not think about paperwork the day their child turns eighteen. They think about move-in day, dorm shoppin...
08/31/2026

Most parents do not think about paperwork the day their child turns eighteen. They think about move-in day, dorm shopping, and saying goodbye in a parking lot. But legally, that eighteenth birthday changes something important. Once a child becomes an adult, parents lose automatic access to their medical and financial information. If that student is in an accident or gets sick away at school, a parent may not be able to speak with doctors or make decisions on their behalf. A medical power of attorney and a HIPAA authorization solve this before it becomes a crisis. We have worked with families the week before move in day to get this signed. Has your college bound student signed the documents that let you help them if something goes wrong?

Most estate plans were written before online accounts became a normal part of daily life, and it shows. Bank statements,...
08/30/2026

Most estate plans were written before online accounts became a normal part of daily life, and it shows. Bank statements, photos, subscriptions, and even entire businesses now live inside accounts that require a password to access, and many of those passwords exist only in one person's head. When someone passes away without leaving instructions, family members can spend months trying to get into accounts that companies are not always willing to unlock, even with a death certificate in hand. Some platforms require a court order before they will grant any access at all. A modern estate plan accounts for this. It names someone with authority to manage digital assets, and it makes sure that person has a way to actually access what they need, whether that is a password manager, a list of accounts, or clear instructions in the trust itself. This is a newer piece of estate planning, and one that generic templates from years ago simply do not address. If something happened to you tomorrow, would the people you trust actually be able to get into the accounts that matter?

Blended families face estate planning questions that traditional families often do not. If you have remarried and have c...
08/28/2026

Blended families face estate planning questions that traditional families often do not. If you have remarried and have children from a previous relationship, your standard assumptions about who inherits what may not hold up the way you expect. Without a clear plan, a surviving spouse could inherit everything, leaving nothing guaranteed for children from an earlier marriage. Or a plan written without care could unintentionally leave a spouse without enough to live on. Neither outcome reflects what most blended families actually want. There are tools built specifically for this situation. A trust can provide for a surviving spouse during their lifetime, while still guaranteeing that assets eventually pass to children from a previous marriage. This is not about choosing between a spouse and children. It is about being specific enough that both are provided for the way you intend. We see the most conflict in blended families when the plan was never updated after a remarriage, or when it was written using a generic template that did not account for a more complicated family structure. If your family includes children from more than one relationship, does your estate plan actually reflect that?

Most estate planning conversations focus on what happens after someone passes away. Just as important is what happens if...
08/27/2026

Most estate planning conversations focus on what happens after someone passes away. Just as important is what happens if they are still alive, but unable to make decisions for themselves. A stroke, an accident, or a sudden illness can leave someone unable to manage their finances or make medical decisions, sometimes with no warning at all. Without the right documents in place, even a spouse may need to go to court to get the authority to act. That process, called a guardianship proceeding, can take months, and it happens at the exact moment a family can least afford the delay. A financial power of attorney and a medical power of attorney solve this problem before it happens. They name someone you trust to step in immediately, without a judge's involvement, to pay your bills, manage your accounts, and make healthcare decisions on your behalf. These documents cost far less than a guardianship proceeding, in both time and money. They are also two of the most commonly overlooked pieces of an estate plan, because people assume they only need to think about death, not incapacity. Do you have someone named to step in if you could not make decisions for yourself tomorrow?

Most parents assume that if something happens to both of them, a family member will simply step in and raise their child...
08/25/2026

Most parents assume that if something happens to both of them, a family member will simply step in and raise their children. That assumption is not automatic, and if you have not put it in writing, a court may decide instead. Judges do not know your family the way you do. They do not know that your sister is steady and reliable, or that your brother-in-law works two jobs and would struggle with the extra responsibility. Without clear direction, a judge is left guessing, sometimes based on which relative shows up to court first. This is one of the simplest things a will can do, and one of the most overlooked. Naming a guardian for your minor children puts your wishes on record, in writing, before anyone else has a say. It also gives the person you choose time to prepare, rather than being thrown into a role they never expected. We often see parents put this decision off because it feels uncomfortable to think about. But avoiding the conversation does not protect your children. It just leaves the decision in someone else's hands. Have you named a guardian for your children, or is it still something you have been meaning to get to?

We sit down with business owners regularly who have spent decades building something. A hardware store. A consulting fir...
08/24/2026

We sit down with business owners regularly who have spent decades building something. A hardware store. A consulting firm. A professional practice. A family operation they started with nothing and grew into something real. And when we ask who takes over if something happens to them tomorrow, the room gets quiet. Not because they haven't thought about it. Because thinking about it and planning for it are two very different things. Here's what we see happen when there's no succession plan in place. The business interest sits in the owner's name personally. When they pass away or become incapacitated, no one has clear legal authority to step in. Contracts are in limbo. Employees don't know who's in charge. A family member may want to keep it running but can't access accounts or execute decisions without a court getting involved first. And a buyer, if there was a buyer lined up, may walk away entirely. A lifetime of work can unravel in a matter of weeks. The questions we help business owners think through are the ones worth asking now. Who steps in if you can't? Is the goal to pass it to your kids, sell it to a key employee, or wind it down cleanly? Is the business ownership structured in a way that allows any of those things to happen without a court battle? The best time to answer those questions is while you're still the one with all the information. Because the day those answers are needed most is the day you may not be there to give them.

A will in Texas has no power. That surprises a lot of people. Most families assume that once mom or dad passes away, the...
08/22/2026

A will in Texas has no power. That surprises a lot of people. Most families assume that once mom or dad passes away, the will takes effect and everything just happens. But that's not how it works in Texas. A will is just words on a page until it goes through the probate court. A judge has to review it, admit it, and appoint a real person to carry it out. That person is called the executor. And until a judge gives them that authority, they can't access accounts, sell property, or distribute anything. But here's where it gets really important. When probate starts in Texas, you start out in dependent probate. That's the default. In dependent probate, the court micromanages every decision the executor makes. Want to sell the house? You go ask the judge for permission. Want to sell the car? Same thing. Every step requires court approval, and that takes time and money. Dependent probate can easily cost $15,000 to $20,000 and take two to three years. Independent probate is a different story. The judge gives the executor blanket authority upfront and the family handles things without going back to court for every decision. In many Texas counties, independent probate can cost several thousand dollars and take four to eight months. So how does a family get into independent probate instead? The most common way is simple. The will needs to include specific language naming an independent executor or stating the executor can act free of court supervision. Without those words, your family may need every single heir to agree to independent probate. And if even one person can't be found or won't agree, the family may be stuck in dependent probate. A few words in the right document can potentially save your family thousands of dollars and months of stress. Do you know whether your will has the right language for Texas? Drop a comment below.

There is a piece of paperwork most people filled out years ago and never looked at again. It is not a will. It is not a ...
08/21/2026

There is a piece of paperwork most people filled out years ago and never looked at again. It is not a will. It is not a trust. It is a beneficiary designation form. The kind you complete when you open a retirement account or take out a life insurance policy. And in many cases it overrides everything else in the plan. We have sat with families who did everything right. They had a will. They had a plan. They thought they had taken care of things. And then they discovered that a form signed twenty years ago was directing their assets somewhere else entirely. A spouse who had since remarried. A child who had passed away before the account holder. An ex-partner whose name had never been removed. Not because anyone was careless. Because no one had gone back to look. Here is the part that surprises most people. Assets held in retirement accounts and life insurance policies typically pass outside of probate. They do not go through your will. They go directly to whoever is listed on that form. It does not matter what the will says. The designation controls. The simplest form of estate plan maintenance most families can do has nothing to do with attorneys or documents. It is opening an old account statement and asking: who is still named here? When did you last check yours?

Address

2901 Caballo Ranch Boulevard , Bldg 1
Cedar Park, TX
78641

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15123377271

Website

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