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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 
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
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.
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
I need to put the house back to my name.
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
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?
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
Provision declared our sibling had to contact remaining sibs within 5 years after Parents death. It’s now 5 years. No contact
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
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
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
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
Are the adult children responsible for this, when there was nothing in the estate? (In Texas)
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.
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
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
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.
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
The care giver has power of attorney. 24/7 care for almost 2 years.
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
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
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.
A minor child died and the family is filing a wrongful death suit. Do they need to go through probate?
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
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?
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... View More
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?
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
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
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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