My friends: Jim, you’ll be 42 years old when you get out of law school.
Me: With any luck, I’ll be 42 anyhow, so I may as well be a lawyer.

Do I need a will?
Can I use a fill-in-the-blank will from the internet?
What’s probate? How long does it take?

Experience and wisdom have led attorney James M. Bright to focus his law practice on answering these and many more questions about wills and probate.

“The time when a family has suffered the loss of a loved one is not the time to suffer a financial loss also.  I charge flat fees for what I do because I want people to ask questions. I used to charge hourly fees, but when I did that, people wouldn’t call and ask questions because they were afraid they were going to be charged an additional fee.  We will perform all the legal duties involved in having a will admitted to Texas probate and will do so on a flat fee basis so clients do not experience further surprise or unintended expense. “

Nancy Sellstrom, his secretary for 40 years, said, “Clients who have lost a loved one are at a point in their life when they are overwhelmed anyway, so we try to make it as simple as possible for them.”

James sees clients by appointment in his office at 208 McCown Street, Suite 114 in  Montgomery.  He no longer has an office in Houston, but he has entered into an “of counsel” agreement with a Houston attorney so that he can still care for his current and future clients in Houston.

His website, houstontxprobate.com, offers a wealth of free information from everything about basic types of wills (which may be used to pass property at death) to how to make sure your pet is cared for after your death.   Information about making wills and probating wills is also on the website. 

“He loves educating people,” Nancy said.

The atmosphere in James’s office in Montgomery’s historic district is relaxed.  He said, “The majority of our clients come from word-of-mouth advertising.  A lot of our probate cases come from the wills we’ve done, and they were happy with our service.  People tell their neighbors, and they come in.”

Clients and friends also stop by to give a greeting and to pet Sonny, the white lab who comes to the office with James.  He had owned a couple of rescue labs over the past years and wanted another, but he had trouble finding a lab rescue at that time.  He’d given up.

“The day I found Sonny through a rescue organization, I’d already made the reservation to see some puppies in Magnolia, so I went ahead.  I hate to make a reservation and not show up.  Well, you know what happened; when we saw the puppies, we fell in love with one.  Since the first was already named Sonny, we named her Cher.  She’s about seven years old now;  Sonny’s about nine or ten.”

Two color photos of his wife Carol adorn his office.  They have been married for 63 years.

A Texas native, James Bright was born in Waco and went to grade school there before moving to Fort Worth for high school. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1961-64.  After discharge, “I designed and sold manual accounting systems when I was in Kansas City, Missouri.  This was before computer programs that make it a lot easier.”

After he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in Kansas City, James returned to Texas in 1975 and attended Law school at South Texas College of Law at night. “I’d always wanted to go to law school.  Fortunately, I have a wife who was very supportive.  I think we can do anything together.”

My friends said “Jim, You’ll be 42 years old when you get out of law school.” I said, “With any luck, I’ll be 42 anyhow, so I may as well be a lawyer.” His wife Carol also attended college and later got her degree in computer science.

When asked about the changes since James first began practicing law, both he and Nancy agree that technology has played a major part. Nancy said, “The biggest change on my side is the technology. We couldn’t do the job we do without the computers.  At first, we had a typewriter and carbon paper.  Then we got a typewriter that had five pages of memory. And then there was the computer, which I converted to kicking and screaming. Now I can’t imagine trying to do wills without a computer.”

Both agree the change to having the hearings via Zoom instead of in person has saved time and money.   Prior to Covid, everyone (including the executor), had to appear in person at the courthouse at the same time.  Many times, the executor who had to appear in court lived out of state.  “That was a hardship for everyone to assemble for a hearing that took five minutes,” Bright said.  Not requiring the witnesses and attorneys to be present in the courthouse is a welcome change for everyone, because it saves everyone’s time and money.

James has no plans to retire because, “I like what I do.  Law practice is interesting. Sometimes you think you’ve seen or heard it all, and then something pops up.  It feels like you’re performing a service. Clients seem to appreciate that.”

“What is most important in my life is my marriage.  I get up and thank God every morning for my life.” James and his wife Carol appreciate simple things in life.  A relative gave them a bird feeder a couple of months ago, and they enjoy watching the birds it attracts.  Watching the acrobatics of the squirrel who routinely steals the bird food provides amusement for the couple.

Become informed. Find answers to many of your questions about wills and probate on James Bright’s informative website, houstontxprobate.com.  It even addresses scams directed toward senior citizens.  James invites you to call his office at (936) 449-4455 or (281) 586-8277.