Lampasas County Legal Help for Disability, Estate Planning and Probate
Ted Smith Law Group serves Lampasas County, including its county seat, Lampasas, from its Killeen office about 40 minutes away. Most matters start with a phone call and a set of records, not an office visit.
Free consultations, no fee until the firm recovers. Car crashes, truck accidents, and serious injuries.
Getting started
Call first, drive in second.
Lampasas is roughly a 40-minute drive from the Killeen office, so most Lampasas County matters start on the phone. Tell the team what you're dealing with and what paperwork you already have, and they'll tell you what to send over before you need to make the trip. For a Social Security denial, that usually means the decision letter and a rough timeline of your medical care. For a death in the family, it means whatever will or account paperwork you can find, even if it's incomplete. For an estate plan you've been putting off, it just means a description of your family and what you own. A short first call is often enough to map out the next few steps, and the file starts moving before anyone drives anywhere. If a document does need an original signature or a notary, the team will say so up front instead of surprising you with a second trip later.
Probate in Lampasas County
Where a Lampasas County estate gets handled.
When someone who lived in Lampasas County dies, the estate is generally probated in that county's court, seated in the city of Lampasas, not in Bell County or wherever family happens to live now. That matters because filing in the wrong county can mean starting over, which adds delay to a process families are usually hoping to get through quickly. The firm identifies the correct filing based on where the deceased person actually resided, prepares the application, and appears at the Lampasas County hearings on the family's behalf. Depending on the estate, that might mean independent administration, which is the faster path when the will allows it, a muniment of title filing when there's a valid will and no unpaid debts besides the home, or an heirship determination when there was no will at all and the court has to formally decide, through witness testimony and a family history, who legally inherits. Families don't have to learn Lampasas County's docket to get this right; the firm has handled it before and knows what the court expects at each step, from the initial application through closing the estate.
Wills, trusts, and powers of attorney for Lampasas County residents.
A lot of estate planning work never requires an in-person visit. Clients in Lampasas County typically start by describing their family situation, what property they own, and who they want in charge if something happens, whether that's raising minor children, managing finances, or making medical decisions. From there the firm drafts a will, and where it makes sense, a trust, a medical power of attorney, a financial power of attorney, or a transfer-on-death deed for real property that can help a home pass to heirs without going through full probate. Reviewing and signing documents is the one part that usually does need to happen in person, since Texas law requires proper witnessing and notarization for a will to hold up later. Even then, most Lampasas County clients make a single trip for signing once everything else, the drafting, the questions, the back-and-forth on wording, is settled by phone and email ahead of time.
Social Security Disability
SSD and SSI claims don't depend on which county you live in.
Social Security Disability (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are federal programs, so a Lampasas County claim goes through the same SSA process as any other Central Texas applicant: initial application, medical review, and, if needed, reconsideration and a hearing before an administrative law judge. A first-round denial doesn't necessarily mean the claim was weak; it's often just where the real work of an appeal begins. The firm gathers medical records, work history, and SSA correspondence, then handles the filings and hearing preparation so the applicant isn't managing SSA deadlines and paperwork alone on top of a medical condition. Consultations for SSD/SSDI are free, so there's no cost to find out where a claim stands or whether an appeal is worth pursuing. Applicants can find their nearest SSA field office and check claim status directly through ssa.gov.
Fort Hood military families
Central Texas's Fort Hood corridor reaches into Lampasas County.
Lampasas County sits on the edge of the wider Fort Hood (formerly Fort Cavazos) military community that shapes so much of Central Texas, and a number of the firm's Lampasas County clients are active-duty families, retirees, or veterans. That shows up most in estate planning and probate: a will drafted quickly before a deployment and never updated, a beneficiary designation on SGLI or SBP that no longer matches the family situation after a marriage or divorce, a power of attorney needed before a PCS move so a spouse can handle finances or a home sale alone. It also shows up in disability work, where VA disability compensation and SSDI can run alongside each other under different eligibility rules, and a veteran may qualify for one, both, or neither depending on the specifics. Founder Ted Smith served as an active-duty Army JAG officer at Fort Hood, so the military side of these questions, TSP beneficiaries, deployment timelines, blended military families, isn't unfamiliar territory for the firm.
Getting to Killeen
What actually requires the drive.
The honest answer is: not much, until the end. Document review, strategy calls, and most SSA and probate paperwork can move by phone, text, and mail. What usually does require a trip is signing a will or power of attorney in front of a notary, or a court hearing the client needs to attend in person, and even SSA hearings are often conducted by phone or video rather than requiring travel to a hearing office at all. Even the in-person steps are scheduled around the client, not the other way around, so a Lampasas County client typically knows well in advance whether and when they need to be in Killeen or in the Lampasas County courthouse in the city of Lampasas, and can plan the trip around work, childcare, or a medical appointment instead of scrambling. That predictability matters when someone is already managing a medical condition, a job, or a grieving family and doesn't have time to spare on unnecessary trips.
Why Ted Smith Law Group
Fifty years in Central Texas, handled by one attorney's practice.
Ted Smith Law Group has served Central Texas since 1976, more than fifty years of practicing in the same region, and the firm carries a 4.6-star rating across more than 500 Google reviews.What that record means is that Lampasas County clients are working with a firm that has handled Central Texas probate courts, SSA hearings, and military family situations for a long time, not a firm learning the terrain for the first time on their case.
How we help
Lampasas County pathways
The first call should turn a confusing legal issue into a clearer next step.
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Social Security Disability
Send the claim stage, denial letter, and SSA correspondence so the file can start before your first call ends.
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Estate planning
Have your current will, property details, and beneficiary names ready. Most of this can be handled by phone and mail without a trip to Killeen.
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Probate
Gather the will, death certificate, property notes, and names of heirs. The firm files and appears in Lampasas County court on the family's behalf.
Serving Lampasas County from Killeen
Lampasas is the Lampasas County seat, about 40 minutes from the Killeen office. Records and documents can be sent ahead so most of the file is ready before any in-person meeting.
County
Included in the Central Texas service-area footprint.
Killeen office
3201 E. Stan Schlueter Loop, Suite B, Killeen, TX 76542
Core practices
SSD, estate planning, and probate help for Lampasas County residents.
“Ted Smith is the best in the area! I can't say enough good things. The whole office cares about their clients and make sure your case is taken care of swiftly and done perfectly.”
“I used Ted Smith Law group to probate my wife's estate. Ted Smith and Barbie King were absolutely terrific in supporting my Probate case. They far exceeded my support expectations.”
“The Ted Smith Law group helped me with my SSDI case. It was a lengthy process and they were there all the way through. They kept me up to date on what was needed to be done and documents that needed to be completed.”
About 40 minutes. Most Lampasas County clients start with a phone call and send records ahead of any office visit.
Where does a Lampasas County probate case get filed?
Generally in the Lampasas County court, since that's where the estate is based. Ted Smith Law Group handles the filing and appears at hearings there directly.
Do I need to drive to Killeen for a first conversation?
Usually not. Most Lampasas County matters start over the phone, and consultations for personal injury and SSD/SSDI are free.
What should I have ready before calling?
Whatever you already have is enough to start: a decision letter, a will, property notes, or medical records. The team will tell you what else is needed once they know the situation.
Does Lampasas County have its own Social Security office?
SSD and SSI claims go through the federal SSA process regardless of county, and hearings are scheduled through the regional hearing office assigned to your case. You can confirm your assigned office and claim status directly at ssa.gov.
Can Fort Hood-connected families in Lampasas County get help with military estate planning?
Yes. The firm regularly works with active-duty, retired, and veteran families on wills, powers of attorney, and beneficiary designations tied to deployments, PCS moves, and VA or SSDI claims.
Talk with Ted Smith Law Group about a Lampasas County legal question.
Call or text the Killeen office and the team will get back to you, usually within one business day.
Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
