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Questions Answered by Ross F. Tew
2 Answers | Asked in Contracts, Estate Planning, Family Law and Real Estate Law for Texas on
Q: If land is owned by multiple people and only one of those people is living, does the living person have 100% ownership

If the deceased people have children, does this entitle the children to part ownership of land, or do the living original owners now have all the remaining ownership? Example: 6 Original Owners, 5 are deceased but have all have children, one original owner is living. Will the 1/6 of ownership be... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Aug 1, 2022

It depends. Did the six original owners take title as joint tenants with right of survivorship? If so, then the entire property belongs to the survivor. It would be surprising if that were the case, but not unheard of. You need to sit down with an attorney who can examine the title to the... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Bad Faith and Probate for Texas on
Q: Life Insur: Insured died in Oct 2021. One of the beneficiaries started the claim process in Jan 2022, but didn't finish

before passing away in Feb 2022. Prudential is telling me (her Executrix) that even though she started a claim and outlived her father, her estate is not eligible for the proceeds because the 1992 policy had an "automatic mode of settlement" that paid only the 3 living persons.

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Jul 25, 2022

I expect the answer to your question lies within the language of the insurance policy itself. You would need to meet with an attorney and have him or her review the documents in question. If you are on good footing and the insurance company is in the wrong, then you will probably need to open an... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: My mom passed away with no will, the only assets she had was the house, which I was the grantor for her.

I need to put the house back to my name.

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Sep 13, 2021

If your mom left no Will, and the house is titled in her name, then it is inherited by her heirs. Her heirs would include her spouse if she was married at the time of her death, as well as her descendants. These are broad strokes. Exactly who receives what and in what proportion depends on more... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: How do I get the money out of my father's Wells Fargo bank account? My father died on August 2, 2020 without a will.

I am his only child and he was not married. Wells Fargo told me I have to go through the Probate Court to get the money because it is more than $1,500. How do I do that?

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Apr 28, 2021

A Small Estate Affidavit may allow you to collect the account if the total assets in the estate (other than the homestead and exempt property) do not exceed $75,000, and the assets exceed the debts owed by the estate. If the non-exempt, non-homestead assets exceed $75,000 then you'll need a... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: My mother passed away last month. I was her P.O.A., her guardian, etc. She was a ward of the court because my brother

went behind my back and got her P.O.A. from me. He took her to her bank and got a good deal of her savings (She had dementia.) She was in a nursing home and they reported him to the court. The judge sold her house for 88,ooo and 4 lawyers took 58,000. The rest of the money is in the Registry of... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Apr 15, 2021

Did your mother leave a Will? If so, the Executor named in the Will can offer the Will up for probate and then motion the Court to release the funds held in the registry. If your mother didn't leave a Will you can apply to be named Administrator of her estate, at which point you can motion... View More

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3 Answers | Asked in Probate and Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: Can the executor of a will change the provisions without all the beneficiary's consent?
Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Oct 3, 2020

Generally speaking, no. Texas law allows for the beneficiaries of a will to amend the terms by family settlement agreement, which would require every beneficiary to consent.

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2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law, Probate and Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: My grandparents are both deceased. They owned a home. They had 5 children. All but 2 are deceased. The 3 who are decease

Have surviving children. Do the 2 surviving children have to include the children of their deceased siblings in signing loans to repair the home or selling the home.

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Jul 23, 2020

Yes.

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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning, Elder Law and Probate for Texas on
Q: What can I do to stop my siblings from stealing everything off my mother's the legal way?

I have a bedridden mother that I take care of her home 24/7. My older sister got my mother to sign power of attorney to her without my mother realizing what she had signed. So my mother revoke that. They were selling her property without her permission and now trying to sell her home and put her... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Jun 11, 2020

You should report elder financial exploitation to Adult Protective Services, a part of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services. You can file a Suggestion of Need of Guardian in the county where you live. If you are in Bexar County you should contact the Probate Court. In Medina and... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: Need to close Moms estate bank account and make final dist. What paperwork does Tx require?

Provision declared our sibling had to contact remaining sibs within 5 years after Parents death. It’s now 5 years. No contact

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Jun 10, 2020

It sounds as though your sibling is the administrator, executor, or trustee handling your mother's affairs. You need to make a demand on your sibling to make the final distribution. If he or she ignores you, then you can compel your sibling to produce an accounting and distribute the estate... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: Is my father's estate responsible for his wife's credit card debt if he was not on the card
Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Jan 23, 2020

In my experience the answer is yes. Debt incurred during the marriage is community debt. I have had creditors agree in writing that they discharge any claim against the estate and will only seek payment from the surviving spouse. You should definitely be working with an attorney if you are... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: Can you inflate the value of an estate

Do you have to have a basis for valuation?

Executrix is the daughter of the decedent, however they have been estranged for years. She is claiming an 800,000.00 estate. How can she claim a number out of thin air? The real story is her husband attorney changed the Will to the benefit of... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Dec 5, 2019

It isn't illegal to be wrong about the value of assets. Amended inventories and accountings are filed when necessary. Beneficiaries can file complaints with the court and object to valuations recited in an inventory or accounting. I need more context to understand why or how the personal... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Elder Law for Texas on
Q: My Mom was in the nursing home, and was on medicaid for all but 2 months, that was not covered.

Are the adult children responsible for this, when there was nothing in the estate? (In Texas)

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Apr 23, 2019

No, the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program collects against the assets in the estate, not from the deceased person's heirs.

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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: Want to amend Granddad's birth cert but am not his legal rep. How do I become his legal rep? He died in 1982.

Grandpa was born in 1917. His birth certificate doesn’t show his name & was never amended, so I applied to DSHS to have it amended to show his name--for genealogical purposes.

DSHS’s BC Correction Application asks my relationship to the person named on the BC, but none of the boxes... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Mar 27, 2019

I can conceive of no inexpensive solution that would result in a court order. A declaratory judgment action or a determination of heirship may result in the court order vital statistics is requiring. Both procedures would require a minimum of several thousand dollars in attorney fees and court... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: Does the executor of the will have to be the one to probate the will or can the beneficiaries get the will probated?

My mother in law passed and left house to my husband and her son but her son doesnt want the house but my husband does how do we get e everything in his name. No one has money for an attorney to probate the will.

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Mar 14, 2019

The first answer is correct. I would add that in the event the first named executor is deceased, incapacitated, or unwilling to sign an affidavit, an interested person, such as a child of the deceased person, has standing to file an application to probate the will or determine the heirs of the... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Family Law and Elder Law for Texas on
Q: Can a family member whose power of attorney has been revoked evict a live in care giver?

The care giver has power of attorney. 24/7 care for almost 2 years.

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Mar 7, 2019

Evicting a residential tenant requires authority. If the caregiver is living with your family member and was invited to do so by your family member or someone speaking for your family member, then the caregiver is a tenant at will and his or her tenancy can be ended by your family member or... View More

3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Texas on
Q: My husband and his sister are co- executors of their brother's estate. We have just learned that the will she filed in

Court is not the will that their brother wrote. Before he passed, the entire family gathered and he made his wishes known. As a family, we prepared his will, and had a notary come to notarize. It turns out that the notary had an assistant with her. This assistant re-wrote the will by hand,... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Aug 20, 2018

The beneficiaries under a will can enter a family settlement agreement which amends the will's terms, but you would want to sit down with an attorney to review the will and the terms you wish to change before drawing up the settlement agreement.

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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: In Texas, when a minor child dies intestate is probate necessary?

A minor child died and the family is filing a wrongful death suit. Do they need to go through probate?

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Aug 15, 2018

It depends on the cause of action. The administration of a decedent's estate is necessary to pursue a survival action, but not a wrongful death suit. One of the biggest practical differences between a survival action and a wrongful death claim is that with a wrongful death claim, damages... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: I am trying to get my 24 yr old deceased son's medical records.

He lived at home with his parents and was a collage student. the doctor denied my request. said I would need an executor. What do I need to do it obtain them?

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Jul 25, 2018

Find an attorney in your area who handles probate cases.

If your son left a Will and you are the executor named, then your attorney will file an Application with the Probate Court, along with the original Will, and you will have a hearing to prove that the Will is valid and get your...
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2 Answers | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: My grandfather had a Will and he only named 2 executors. We started the Probate process and now neither of them want to

be executor. They do have another brother who said he would be executor but he is not listed. He is in the Will as a beneficiary though. The two other executors agree that the other brother should be the executor. What would be the next steps in appointing the other brother as executor?

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Apr 18, 2018

If you've started the process your attorney should handle this issue. To serve as the personal representative (executor or administrator) of an estate in Texas you must be represented by an attorney at all times. The named executors can each execute a declination to serve and under Chapter... View More

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2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Texas on
Q: Is my brother entitled to a share of my dad's portion of my grandmas house if his name was legally changed in 1982?

My grandma passed away in 2005 and her house was left to my dad and his brother and sisters. My dad passed away in 2013 and the house was just recently sold. I have a brother whose name was legally changed when he was about 2 because he was adopted by someone else. Is he entitled to any of the... View More

Ross F. Tew
Ross F. Tew
answered on Mar 23, 2018

Assuming that your brother was adopted, and assuming further that neither the adoptive parents nor the biological parents left Wills, in Texas the general rule is that an adopted child inherits from his adoptive parents just like any of their other children would, but the adopted child also... View More

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