Texas Probate Legal Questions

A will has no legal effect until a court admits it to probate.  Court filing fees vary from county to county.  Lawyers' fees vary from lawyer to lawyer.  To find a probate lawyer in Jefferson County, Texas, use the Find a Lawyer function on the State Bar of Texas website, inputting the name of the county and "probate".... Read More

Your lawyer should submit a death certificate, the original Will and an application to probate a Will.  This is not a DIY project. Since 1843 Texas has allowed estates to be settled independent of court administration (other than admitting the Will to probate, appointing the administrator, reviewing and approving an inventory and recording creditor's claims), this may well be the extent to which Texas probate law is "simplified."  Fortunately, that makes it much cheaper and faster than in other states.... Read More

If this has happened, you need to complain to the Court.  From your description, it sounds as though someone was made the guardian of your estate and has not fulfilled their duties.  Texas law requires that a guardian of the estate file an annual report with the Court and that the Court audit it.  In many of our smaller counties this does not happen until someone calls it to the Court's attention.... Read More

Since you were not married, you cannot file a DMV Affidavit of Heirship.  If there was no Will, the heirs will have to file and then gift you the car.  Depending on the circumstances, they may need to file a DMV Affidavit of Heirship, an Affidavit of Small Estate or an Application to Determine Heirs and Issue Letters of Administration.  They should see a local probate lawyer to determine which.... Read More

It depends on the location, the type and number of documents you need, the complexity of your estate and family and plan and, of course, the experience and billing practices of the lawyer.  If you have a very limited income, you may be able to get free representation through Volunteer Legal Services in your area.  If you do not qualify for this, you may still qualify for Modest Means representation through Lawyer Referral Services in your area.... Read More

If your former spouse had a Will, he could have left everything to his widow.  He could also have named her the beneficiary on his life insurance policy. If your former spouse did not have a Will, his widow is entitled to some things and, if there are children from a prior relationship, they are entitled to some things. The estate should be probated, whether in a court proceeding or through an Affidavit of Small Estate.  Contact a local probate attorney.   It is really none of your business what the widow does or where she does it.  She is entitled to apply for citizenship.  ... Read More

You do not need a separate court order.  Once you are appointed administrator of your father's estate, you will have authority over all your father's property.  See a local probate lawyer about filing an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration.... Read More

A Will has no legal effect until a court admits it to probate. A Will only governs probate assets, not assets which pass to a designated beneficiary (such as life insurance policies or 401ks), transfer on death (brokerage accounts), pay on death or joint with right of survivorship (bank accounts) or real estate for which there is a recorded Lady Bird or Transfer on Death Deed. If this is all there is, it appears that your conclusion is correct:  there is no need to probate the Will because there are no assets to be gathered, inventoried and distributed.   Please note, however, that the IRS and other creditors (except for the Texas Medicaid Estate Recovery Program) can collect from non-probate assets.... Read More

A codicil must be signed, witnessed and notarized just like a Will. It should be drafted by an estate planning attorney to make sure that it is effective and does not alter other provisions of the Will.   The application to probate the Will will then be an application to probate a Will and Codicil.... Read More

If you want to make sure that the changes will be honored by the court when you are gone, hire an estate planning lawyer to make them.  You may not need a new Will.  You may only need a document noting the changes and stating that the rest of the Will stands.  This is called a Codicil and must be signed witnessed and notarized with the same formality as a Will.... Read More

A Will has no legal effect until a court admits it to probate. Probate is "proving" that it is a valid Will; that the person named in the Will and appointed by the court as executor has authority to gather the deceased's property, pay her debts and distribute the rest according to the Will. "Probity," a word with the same root, means integrity, honesty.  You want a court to rule that the document presented is really your Will and to require the executor to be honest in settling your estate. To make sure that your Will does not get lost, you can take it to the local probate court (in some counties the county court at law or county court) and pay them $5 to keep it until it is needed.  ... Read More

In Texas a surviving spouse has a lifetime right to occupy the home whether it was community property or separate property. After your stepmother dies, two witnesses who can testify who her heirs were and who your father's heirs were can sign Affidavits of Heirship to be filed in the county deed records.  If no one objects within five years, the courts will enforce them.    ... Read More

If your mother made a Will, it should be presented for probate.  Check the county probate court records.  They may be on line. If your mother owned a house, check the county deed records. Deeds trump Wills. If there was no Will, you can hire a local probate lawyer to file an Affidavit to Determine Heirship and Issue Letters of Administration.  ... Read More

Oral "wills" are not Wills.  If no Will can be found, the husband's 50% community property interest and (if there are no children from another marriage) his 100% interest in separate property can pass to the wife via an Affidavit of Heirship filed in the deed records (for a home), an Affidavit of Small Estate filed with and approved by a probate court (for a home, up to $60,000 in household goods and personal effects and up to $75,000 in other assets, such as  bank account) or an Application to Determine Heriship and Issue Letters of Independent Administration.  The widow should see a local probate lawyer to determine which works best in this situation. Whether the buyer should make payment to the estate, the widow or any children from a previous marriage cannot be determined without this.... Read More

Please ask the bank to look at the signature card for the checking account.  If it is a "pay on death" or "joint with right of survivorship" account, the money goes to the person named and will not be a part of your brother's estate.  If not, you may be able to withdraw half (if it is a joint account) or you may be a mere convenience signer, signing checks for your brother's convenience, and half -- or all -- of the money is still his and will be part of his estate when he dies. In Texas if someone only leaves a home, two people who will not inherit can sign Affidavits of Heirship before a notary stating that you and your brother are the heirs and the only heirs.  These must be filed in the deed records of the county where the real property is located.  While a court will not enforce an Affidavit of Heirship until it has been of record for five years with no one complaining that it is inaccurate, many title companies will issue title insurance permitting a sale of the property within a shorter period, some within months of the death. In Texas if someone only leaves a home, up to $60,000 in household goods and personal effects and up to $75,000 in other property (such as a bank account), the heirs and two people who will not inherit can sign an Affidavit of Small Estate before a notary and present it to the court.  Some courts will only permit this if the heirs are a spouse and/or minor children so it may not be available to you.  Please check with a local probate lawyer. The third possibility is to file an Application to Determine Heirship and Issue Letters of Independent Administration.  To do this you will need to hire a local probate lawyer.      ... Read More

Hire a local probate attorney to file an Application to Determine Heirship and Issue Letters of Independent Administration.  You may qualify for free legal representation and waived court filing fees through Volunteer Legal Services or Rio Grande Legal Aid.  If not, you may qualify for low cost legal representation through the modest means program of Lawyer Referral Services. Until the Court appoints an administrator (or an executor, if there is a Will) no one has authority over your mother's property.  Anyone who takes something is stealing from her estate.... Read More

If the wife's estate was probated or an Affidavit of Heirship recorded in the deed records, her interest passed either to whom she named in her will or to her heirs at law.  These differ for separate and community property.  See the Texas County Probate Court website for pie charts showing this. As for the husband's separate property and any interest in community property which he inherited from his wife, either by her will or through an Affidavit of Heirship, the most recent Will governs.... Read More