Texas Probate Legal Questions

While many executors and judges will look to your parents' intent, if the Wills do not specifically name the "daughters" some may cling to the word "daughters," disinheriting you.  It should cost very little for an estate planning attorney to draw up a codicil (modification of a Will) changing the word "daughters" to "children."  Look on it as a cheap insurance policy.... Read More

Hire a local lawyer who does fiduciary litigation.     In Texas a surviving spouse (such as your step-grandfather) has the right to live in the home for life, whether it was community property or separate property.  Report the aunt to Adult Protective Services for attempt to exploit and defraud an elderly person.  In Texas exploiting an elderly or disabled person is a first degree felony.    ... Read More

If your grandmother has a valid Will, her property will pass as she wrote in that Will.  No one can change it but her. If your grandmother does not have a valid Will, her property will pass under the Texas laws of descent and distribution.  If your grandfather is dead and your grandmother's only children and Delores and Jim, half (after all the bills are paid) will pass to each or, if they are deceased, to their children. Whether your uncle can kick you out of your grandmother's house before a court appoints someone as executor (valid Will) or administrator (no valid Will) to settle her estate depends on the situation.  While your grandmother is alive, an agent under a Durable Power of Attorney may have authority over her property (if the document so states).  After she dies, no one has authority over her property until the court appoints them as executor or agent or approves a Small Estate Affidavit.  If she has no valid Will and all she leaves is a house, the heirs could record an Affidavit of Heirship in the deed records -- but courts will not enforce it until it has been of record for five years with no one complaining that it is incorrect.... Read More

If your father dies without a Will, any heir (such as you, assuming that he died unmarried) can file an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration.  You may be pleasantly surprised at how little this costs in Texas (at least compared to other states).  Find a probate lawyer in the county in which your father died using the Find a Lawyer function.  If cannot work out the financial arrangements, you may be eligible for the "modest means" program of Lawyer Referral Services in your area or for representation through Volunteer Legal Services.... Read More

This sounds like a scam.  English lawyers are divided into solicitors and barristers (trial lawyers).  U.S. lawyers are not.    Airline tickets are not commonly purchased by sending a stranger (who probably does not exist) money by Money Gram.   If for some reason you want to go to a country in West Africa, you can buy a ticket directly from an airline or use a travel agent.... Read More

If you may someday need Medicaid for home health or nursing home care, you may be better off leaving your home to your friend using a transfer on death or "Lady Bird" deed (a general warranty deed reserving an extended life estate).  You can find a local elder lawyer using the Find a Lawyer function of the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org) or a local estate planning lawyer on this website.... Read More

The Texas Estates Code requires that a Will be presented to the clerks of the local probate court within 30 days following a death.  If the Will was presented for probate, it has become a matter of public records.  Many Texas counties have their probate court records online.  If the county where your grandfather died does not, check with the clerks. If no Will was filed and if you are an heir (meaning the mother or father through whom you would have inherited died before your grandfather), you can file an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration.  You will need the help of a local probate lawyer to do this.... Read More

If your father predeceased your mother and her only children were with him, there are two relatively low cost possibilities.  First, two people who will not inherit and who can testify that you and your siblings are the heirs and the only heirs can sign an Affidavit of Heirship before a notary public and record it in the county deed records.  Then each of your siblings can deed their interest in the property to you.  Note that 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 incorrect.  (It is usually worthwhile to have an attorney review this first.) Second, if your mother left no more than a home, $60,000 in personal possessions and household goods, and $75,000 in other assets (such as a bank account) you and your siblings and two people who will not inherit and who can testify that you and your siblings are the heirs and the only heirs can sign an Affidavit of Small Estate and file it with your mother's death certificate in the local probate court.  (In smaller counties this is a county court at law).  After the judge admits it, your siblings can deed their interest in the property to you. (It is usually worthwhile to have an attorney review this first.) In both cases, you will want an attorney to draw up the deeds.  These, too, must be recorded in the county clerk's deed records.  ... Read More

How long it takes depends on how complicated the estate and family are, how quickly and fully you provide the necessary information, and what other work the lawyer is doing.  We all encounter client emergencies which throw off our schedules and our plans.  Costs also vary with how complicated the estate and family are, how quickly and fully you provide the necessary information and what ancillary documents are provided. ... Read More

Yes, evidence is required.  Texas law also requires that the Will be submitted to the county probate clerk within 30 days following the death.  You might consider reminding your uncle.  If he does not do that, you can hire a probate lawyer to file a Motion for an Order to Show Cause.  The Order to Show Cause would require your uncle to come into court to show that he has good cause for flaunting the law. With a properly drafted, self-proved Will, Texas probate typically runs $2,300-$2,800, varying with the county filing fees.  Compared to costs in other states, that is cheap.  Compared to losing $50,000 for which there is no documentation, that is very cheap.  ... Read More

If you are the beneficiary of your father's life insurance policy, the life insurance company should talk to you.  If you are not, they should not.  Are you sure that your father did not change the beneficiary to your step mother? It is not at all clear why you would need your father's social security number.  The widow's social security benefits are affected by his death.  Yours are only if you are a disabled adult child who was disabled before and after age 18 and your father applied for SSDI on your behalf in your early 20s.   ... Read More

To make sure that you get a Will which can be admitted to probate in Texas, which will not require your executor to post a bond, which will allow your executor to settle your estate (including your online accounts) free of court supervision (and so at a significantly lower cost), contact an estate planning attorney.  You can find one on this website or on that of the State Bar of Texas.  This is an excellent opportunity to also arrange to stay in charge during your retirement years.  You might consider contacting an estate planning attorney who is also an elder law attorney.  You can find one using the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org).  It can cost less than you may imagine and save you thousands of dollars in legal and court fees later on.... Read More

To avoid someone having to probate her estate in both California and Texas, your mother should see an estate planning lawyer (preferrably one who is also an elder lawyer) about creating a Texas revocable living trust and putting her California real property in that trust.  While Texas courts will recognize an out-of-state Will if it was properly executed under the laws of the state where it was signed, she may want to exchange her California will for a "pour over" Will to pour over anything not formerly transferred to the trust into the trust.  Her probate, if any, will then be very simple. In any event, in Texas probate of a properly drafted and executed Will can be relatively cheap, fast and simple.  If the Will so provides, the estate can be settled independent of court supervision.  The executor need only appear in court for 10-15 minutes to promise to be a good executor and pick up Letters Testamentary, giving him authority over all the property.  Documents apart from the original Will are efiled by the attorney.  Other than the court appearance, the executor need only submit an Inventory. This would be a good opportunity for your mother to also create documents to designate who should pay the bills when she cannot, who the doctors can talk to, who should speak for her when she cannot communicate and other documents to keep her in charge of her medical care.  She can find a local elder law attorney on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org).                ... Read More

No.  Unless your father specifically required it, there is no "reading of the Will" in Texas.  Wills which have been submitted for probate are available at the probate court (or county court handling probate) for all to see, often on line.  Beneficiaries are required to be notified that they are beneficiaries after the will has been admitted to probate.... Read More

When you write a new Will it should include language revoking the old one.  The most recent Will governs.  To make sure that that is the Will which is followed when you die, take the original to the county clerk at the probate court.  For $5 they will keep it for you.  If you want to keep a copy, copy all but the signature pages.  That way if you later replace this new Will, no one will be able to probate  it.  Be sure you give a copy of the latest Will to the court as well.... Read More

People lose Wills.  People interpret or remember them differently.  A Will must be admitted to probate.  Fortunately, in Texas, we have independent administration.  If your father's Will provided for an executor to act independently without bond and is properly signed and witnessed with a properly signed, witnessed and notarized self-proving affidavit, your only interaction with the court may be to submit the Will for probate, receive Letters Testamentary giving you authority over your father's property and submit an inventory of his possessions.  (If there are disputes with creditors or beneficiaries, there will be more.) In Texas an Affidavit of Small Estate cannot be used if there is a Will:  you must submit the Will to probate. Contact a local probate attorney.  You may find that Texas probate is less expensive, time consuming and burdensome than most people imagine.... Read More