Hire a local probate lawyer to help you file an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration. After the hearing, the judge will sign a Judgment Declaring Heirship.

When a Will ir submitted to the court for probate (proving), it becomes a public document. If you would like to see it, ask the clerk of the local probate court.

If he left no more than a home, up to $60,000 in personal effects (such as furniture) and up to $75,000 in other personal property (such as a bank account), and all the heirs and two witnesses will sign, you may be able to file a Small Estate Affidavit.

The real problem for many families... View More

Being in prison does not negate his being beneficiary of the life insurance -- though it may mean that the state will eventually receive the funds to pay for his room and board.

The power of the attorney expired with your father. The agent under the Durable Power of Attorney no longer has a whisker of authority.

That said, until a court appoints an executor or, if there was no Will, an administrator to settle your father's estate, neither does anyone else.

There are professional fiduciairies who may serve. Some of them are lawyers. However, it will cost. In addition, apart from a close family member, a lawyer cannot prepare and serve as executor of someone's Will.

It is not wise to do so. If the executor pays out funds which are later needed to pay debts, including taxes, the executor must then claw it back even if this involves a lawsuit. Please keep in mind that on average it takes two years to settle an estate. That means that half take longer.

While a beneficiary can ask nicely, whatever is presented will necessarily be incomplete and could be very misleading. One should not be surprised to see claims come in a year after the executor was appointed by a court. Similarly the executor cannot file a tax return until the calendar year... View More

It is not up to a beneficiary or any other individual. The court does this as a matter of course, in due course.

Anyone can file a claim against the estate. However, in Texas that claim must include the original invoice or a verified copy of it and a notarized affidavit stating that all offsets have been taken. "He said, she said" rarely gets one very far in court.

No. The beneficiary had neither authority nor responsibility to make the repairs. If the beneficiary did so without a valid written contract with the executor (who is to preserve, not enhance, the estate), the beneficiary made a gift.

A "muniment of title" is a defense of title. A Will which was not presented for probate within four years following death, through no fault of the person presenting it (e.g., it was just found), can be probated but only as a muniment of title. That means that a court order admitting the... View More

In due time the Court will issue an Order to Show Cause to the executor and the executor's attorney.

Yes. This is due within 90 days following appointment. Please note that it is an inventory of what the estate owns. It does not address what the estate might owe. It does not address out-of-state real property or anything which may pass to a designated beneficiary (such as a bank account held... View More

In Texas beneficiaries are entitled to ask the executor for an accounting 15 months after the court appoints the executor. The executor has 60 days to present it.

Texas has had independent estate administrations since 1843. In an independent administration, no final accounting need be... View More

This is most likely a scam. If there were surplus funds from any source (even a utility deposit) they would, in good time, be deposited with the state comptroller. They could not be accessed until then.

You can complete an Appointment for Disposition of Remains saying who you want to handle your remains. You must sign it before a notary. The person you appoint must sign accepting the appointment. That person need not be a family member.

No. After four years, a Will is not void. But it can only be used to pass title (to a house or a car for example).

The answer is highly dependent on facts and circumstances so cannot be answered without specific information and discussion.

Beneficiary designations trump Wills. Financial assets with a beneficiary designation pass outside probate. There is therefore no point in contesting a Will because you disagree with a beneficiary designation.