A practical check for the people, authority, and documents your family may need
Last reviewed: July 23, 2026
Download the free English printable and fillable organizer
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If you could not speak or act for yourself, would the people you trust know what to do - and have the legal authority to do it?
That question is more personal than, "Do I have a will?"
It asks whether someone could handle urgent financial responsibilities during your lifetime, whether someone could make health-care decisions if you could not, and whether the right person would carry out your estate instructions after your death.
Those are three different roles. They are usually addressed through different documents.
The goal is not more paperwork. It is role clarity—the right person, with the right authority, at the right time.
Start with the BRLG Three-Role Estate Plan Check
This resource is designed for everyday people who want a practical place to begin thinking about estate planning. You do not need to know the legal terminology or have an existing plan. Use the organizer to write down what you already know, identify what is uncertain, and decide which questions or documents deserve a closer look.
Write down one primary person and at least one possible backup for each role. The same person may be appropriate for more than one role, but do not assume that one document or one appointment automatically covers everything.
Role 1: Financial matters during your lifetime
The practical question: If you could not manage bills, banking, property, or other authorized financial matters, who could act for you?
A Texas durable power of attorney may grant an agent authority over specified financial and property matters. The document controls which powers are granted and may affect when the authority becomes effective. The Texas statutory form states that it is effective immediately unless the person signing it directs otherwise. A durable power of attorney terminates when the principal dies and may terminate in other circumstances established by law or the document.
Ask:
- What financial responsibilities would need attention first?
- Does the document actually grant the authority the agent may need?
- Is the person trustworthy, organized, and able to keep records?
- Does the person know they were selected and agree to serve?
- Is a backup named if the first person cannot act?
- Can the appropriate person locate the signed document when needed?
Do not place passwords, complete account numbers, or other sensitive access information in an unsecured checklist. A separate, secure inventory can identify what exists and where current records are stored.
Role 2: Health-care decisions if you cannot decide
The practical question: Who understands your wishes well enough to speak for you about health care if you cannot make those decisions yourself?
Under the Texas medical power of attorney statute, an agent may exercise authority only after the attending physician makes the required written certification and places it in the principal's medical record. The agent's authority is also subject to the document and statutory limits.
Ask:
- Does the person understand your values, priorities, and important health-care wishes?
- Can the person remain calm, ask questions, and communicate with providers?
- Is the person reasonably available in an emergency?
- Does the person know they were selected and agree to serve?
- Is an alternate named?
- Do the right people know where the signed document is stored?
A medical power of attorney answers a decision-maker question. Other health-care planning documents may address different instructions or circumstances. Do not assume one form does every job.
Role 3: Estate instructions after your death
The practical question: Who is named to carry out your estate instructions, and which property would those instructions actually control?
A Texas will may direct the disposition of property or interests passing under the will and may name an executor. A will does not necessarily control every asset. Accounts, insurance, survivorship arrangements, transfer-on-death instruments, and other property may pass under beneficiary designations, contracts, titling, or other non-probate arrangements.
Ask:
- Who is named as executor, and is that person still willing and appropriate?
- Is a backup named?
- Does the will still reflect your family, property, and intentions?
- Do beneficiary designations and account ownership align with the overall plan?
- Are there assets or responsibilities the current documents do not address?
- Can the original signed will be located?
The most important question is not simply whether a document exists. It is whether the documents and account instructions still work together.
Five gaps people often discover
1. The person never agreed to serve
Naming someone without discussing the role can leave uncertainty at the moment the person is needed. A practical planning conversation should address willingness, availability, and the responsibilities involved.
2. There is no backup
People move, become ill, die, decline to serve, or become unavailable. A plan with no alternate may leave a preventable gap.
3. The document grants the wrong authority - or is misunderstood
The title of a document does not answer what powers it contains, when those powers begin, or when they end. Review the actual language.
4. Beneficiary designations and the will were reviewed separately
Some property may pass outside the will. Compare beneficiary designations, account ownership, and transfer-on-death instructions with the overall estate plan.
5. No one can find the signed documents
A carefully prepared plan may not help when the right people do not know that it exists or cannot locate the operative version.
When might your documents deserve review?
There is no single event that means every person needs the same change. A review may be useful when:
- You have a will but no incapacity documents.
- You have powers of attorney but do not remember whom you named or what authority you granted.
- A selected agent, executor, or alternate has died, moved, become unavailable, or is no longer the right choice.
- You married, divorced, separated, had a child, adopted, or experienced a death in the family.
- Your health, finances, property, business interests, or family responsibilities changed substantially.
- You moved to Texas or another state.
- Beneficiary designations have not been compared with the estate plan.
- The documents are difficult to locate, incomplete, unsigned, or possibly superseded by later versions.
- You do not know whether the current documents still express your intentions.
These are review signals, not conclusions about what any individual must do. The effect of a life event depends on the documents, property, timing, and applicable law.
A 15-minute action you can take now
1. Write the name of the person currently selected—or someone you would consider—for each role.
2. Write one possible backup for each role.
3. Note whether each person knows about the appointment and is willing to serve.
4. List where the signed documents are stored.
5. Identify one question or mismatch that deserves follow-up.
Use the printable and fillable Texas Three-Role Estate Plan Check to organize your answers. This organizer is an educational resource. It is not a will, power of attorney, beneficiary designation, or substitute for legal advice.
Last reviewed: July 23, 2026
Download the free English printable and fillable organizer
Descargar gratis la herramienta imprimible y rellenable en español
When legal guidance may help
Professional guidance may be useful when you want to:
- Prepare or update a Texas will.
- Understand what authority a financial or medical power of attorney grants.
- Choose or replace an agent, executor, or backup.
- Coordinate beneficiary designations and estate documents.
- Review planning after marriage, divorce, relocation, a birth, a death, or another significant change.
- Address blended-family, business, disability, caregiving, or complex-property concerns.
- Determine which documents fit your actual goals rather than adding forms without a plan.
Ready to review what you found?
If the organizer identifies questions you want to discuss, Blue Ribbon Law Group helps San Antonio families review estate-planning decisions with clarity.
Schedule a Legal Strategy Consultation
Scheduling, paying for, or attending a consultation does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship. Representation begins only after Blue Ribbon Law Group confirms representation and any required written agreement is completed.
Frequently asked questions
Is a will the same as a power of attorney?
No. They address different roles. A will generally addresses property and estate administration after death. A power of attorney grants specified authority for actions during the principal's lifetime.
Does a financial power of attorney continue after death?
No. A Texas durable power of attorney terminates when the principal dies. Estate administration after death is handled through other authority and procedures.
Can a medical power of attorney agent act whenever they disagree with me?
No. Under Texas law, the agent may exercise authority only after the attending physician makes the required written certification. The statute also provides that treatment may not be given or withheld if the principal objects, regardless of whether a medical power of attorney is in effect.
Does a will control every account or asset?
Not necessarily. Some assets may pass through beneficiary designations, contracts, survivorship arrangements, titling, or transfer-on-death instruments. Review the actual account and ownership documents instead of assuming the will controls everything.
Should the people I name know about the role?
Discussing the role is a practical way to confirm willingness, availability, and understanding. It also gives the person an opportunity to ask what may be expected and where documents are stored.
How often should an estate plan be reviewed?
There is no universal schedule that fits every person. Review may be appropriate after significant family, health, financial, property, or location changes, or whenever you are no longer confident that the people and documents still reflect your intentions.
Sources and further reading
- Texas Estates Code Section 251.002, interests that may pass by will: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/pdf/ES.251.pdf
- Texas Estates Code Sections 751.031 and 751.131, durable-power-of-attorney authority and termination: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/pdf/ES.751.pdf
- Texas Estates Code Chapter 752, statutory durable-power-of-attorney form and effectiveness language: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/pdf/ES.752.pdf
- Texas Health and Safety Code Section 166.152, medical-power-of-attorney authority: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/pdf/HS.166.pdf
- Texas Estates Code Chapter 111, non-probate assets: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.111.htm
Disclaimer: This information is general educational information only and is not legal advice. Reading or using this material does not create an attorney-client relationship with The Blue Ribbon Law Group, PLLC. Every matter depends on its specific facts, documents, property, timing, and legal issues.
