Krupa Downs Law, PLLC

Do you have your Estate in Order?

Chris focuses her practice on wills, trusts, advance directives, estate planning, guardianships, and probate matters for clients in Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and throughout Collin County.

In addition to her law practice, Chris writes and lectures for local and state bar associations.

She is a member of various professional organizations, including the Collin County Bar Association, the Dallas Bar Association and the Texas Bar College and serves on the board of the State Bar of Texas’s Computer and Technology Section Council.

Chris is also an active volunteer for area non-profits.

Recently she served as the public affairs representative for the Junior League of Collin County and was the Vice Chair of Plano’s Complete Count Committee, a volunteer committee working with the City to promote the 2020 Census.

Estate Planning

Estate planning is the way we care for our loved ones after we are gone and how we help our loved ones care for us if we are sick or incapacitated.

Estate Planning includes Wills, medical powers of attorney, financial powers of attorney, other advance directives, and coordination of your assets with your plan.

It can also include various types created in a Will or created as a Living Trust. Estate Planning may also include tax planning to address estate and gift tax concerns.

Guardianship & Alternatives

If a loved one has a child with special needs, guardianship may be a topic that comes up. Guardianship is a legal process with a court-created relationship between a person who needs help (“proposed ward” or “ward”) and the person who gives help (“guardian”).

A court decides if the person is not able to manage their personal or financial affairs due to a physical or mental condition, and if they aren’t, the Court appoints a guardian to make “substitute-decision-making.”

Probate & Estate Administration

After someone dies, there may be a need to probate the estate. Probate is the process where a court is asked to prove the Will is valid (or determine heirs if someone died without a will).

The Court will also appoint an Executor or Administrator to collect the decedent’s assets, deal with bills, collect property and assets, and distribute the assets to the beneficiaries in accordance with the instructions written in the person’s will, or according to Texas law if the person died without a will.

Call Chris for an appointment