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Questions Answered by Terry Lynn Garrett
2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Elder Law for Texas on
Q: How does an incompetency declaration affect the patient-phycian relationship?

We already set up medical appointments and accompany our dad to his appointments.

He's signed documents allowing us to have access to his medical records.

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 8, 2020

How would you feel if someone you trusted with the most intimate details of your life declared you mentally incompetent, no longer an adult who should be allowed to make your own decisions? Would you continue to share everything with that person? If that person was your physician, would you... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Elder Law for Texas on
Q: . Must 2 doctors do mental tests in order to be qualified to sign "incompetency clause"?

Dad's trust has incompetency clause.

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 8, 2020

If that is what the trust says, that is what is required. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find physicians who will do this short of a lengthy dementia workup or a Physician's Certificate of Medical Examination prepared in connection with a guardianship application. It does affect... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: If my mom's will says everything to be sold and split between her 4 kids can the executor change that?

There is a house involved, 3 kids want to keep it and the 4th one wants to sell it, is there a way around it without buying the 4th kid out? Maybe a deed of variation???

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 4, 2020

There is no way around it without buying the 4th out if he wants to be bought out: that would be theft. But he can make a deed gifting his interest to the other three if he wants.

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: How can I get a durable power of authorney

How can I obtain a durable power of attorney my mother-in-law needs to get one from her husband

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 3, 2020

Your father-in-law can grant your mother-in-law a Durable Power of Attorney. Please contact an estate planning attorney in or near Cypress.

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Texas on
Q: Can my brother control the inherited money? He believes he needs more of the inherited money.

He has sufficient income, plus my father’s pension about 18k, then had rented my parents home which he received money as well. He tells me I only get little or nothing, since that’s what his lawyer said. I don’t know much of its truth. I want to speak with his lawyer and see a itemized... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 2, 2020

In Texas 15 months after an executor (if there is a Will) or an administrator (if there is none) is appointed, a beneficiary (if there is a Will) or heir (if there is none) is entitled to request an accounting. Please keep in mind that Wills rarely and heirship never takes into account the... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: I gave up my rights as excuteor and appointed my brother as successor to my parents estate.

My brother mention i won’t get anything, keep telling me he makes the decisions. He mention he needs refund for whatever expenses he made towards the estate. My brother keeps emotional and mentally abusing me. He mention I need to answer his questions and pick his phone calls. Remind you I know... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 2, 2020

You may have waived your right to serve as executor but the court appointed your brother. If you do not want to do the job of the executor, hand over all the information. It is the duty of the court-appointed executor to gather all the assets, pay all the bills (including the cost of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Insurance Bad Faith, Insurance Defense and Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: My mother had no beneficiary listed on her life insurance policy, what can I do to get the information I need?

Not only did she have no beneficiary but her ex employer whom she was long retired from seems to be holding up the process to pay out the funeral home. For privacy reasons they will not give out the policy number (the insurance company) and i have no copy of the policy itself. The funeral home... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Dec 1, 2020

Step one. Obtain the death certificate.

Step two. Hire a local probate attorney to help you file either a Small Estate Affidavit or an Application to Determine Heirship, opening the estate.

Step three. Send the court order to the life insurance company.

Please remember...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: My dad who is not my biological dad made a will out leaving out his biological son. His girlfriend seems questionable..

Can he legally give me a copy of his will in the event his girlfriend or my brother do not like, or wish to try to contest what he states in it once he is gone? His girlfriend wants to get married because as of now she has been written as executor, but I somewhat think there is motive to push so... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 26, 2020

Your father can deliver his Will to the clerks at the local probate court for safekeeping for $5.

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: My husband's dad died & his brother,the executor will not give him a copy of the will or probate info. Now all dads 2mil

His dad,worth about 2 mill plus property etc is suddenly been moved into his brothers name and is there laws against this. If hes executor, isn't it his responsibility to provide probate details? . My husband is a jr & he was in the will for sure. His brother wont give him a copy of the... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 26, 2020

A Will has no legal effect until it is submitted for probate. It then becomes a public document. Check with the local probate court. If the Will has not been submitted for probate, hire a local probate lawyer to review the "deeds" and file an application to determine heirship and... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: executor doesnt qualify and already filed probate.does the replacment executor need to file anything texas.

1st named executor does not qualify and has already filed in probate. Is there any forms that the 2nd nominee to be executor need to file? Also if some one is protesting the will do i need to file a respone to the protest with the court?

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 25, 2020

If you step into the shoes of the executor, you need to be appointed by the court as successor executor. You then need to hire a local probate lawyer who practices fiduciary litigation to help you defend the authenticity of the Will against the contest(s) and, assuming that you succeed, gather the... View More

3 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: If i am legally still married and he died. Then shouldn't his estate go to his spouse ?

His brother said he was left everything. Shouldn't i have more rights than him ?

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 19, 2020

If there was a Will, everything passes according to the Will.

If there was a no Will, everything passes to the spouse unless there were children from another relationship.

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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: need access to a format for motion to quash a subpoena in a probate case - help!
Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 17, 2020

This is not a DIY project.

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law and Probate for Texas on
Q: How to transfer deed after muniment of title order?

We processed our mother's house through a muniment of title pro se and received order in Brazoria County, TX. The will stated that property goes to the living children. However, we would like to transfer ownership to one sibling.

I understand that there isn't an executor named... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 14, 2020

A quit claim deed does not transfer title. It merely records that one person quits a right, such as an easement over a driveway, to use another's land. A deed of gift can be either a General Warranty Deed or, if the previous deed was a Special Warranty Deed or a distribution from an estate,... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: My brother lived in texas and has passed away on August 24th. Who can file a small estate.

He did not have a will that I know of, but his heir( estranged son) has not done anything to take care of collectors or even inquire about them. The family has taken care of my brothers funeral, he didn't even ask about his dad. Want to know if I can file a small estate on behalf of our... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
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Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 11, 2020

An Affidavit of Small Estate must be signed by all the heirs and two witnesses who will not inherit. If your sibling will not sign (or if there is a Will), you may be stuck with an Application for Determination of Heirship and Issuance of Letters of Administration.

1 Answer | Asked in Probate and Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: What are my rights to deceased husband's property when adult children from previous marriage have moved in house

All assets were accumulated during our marriage. I left the home because there was marijuana being grown and sold from the house and deceased husband and I have 15 yr old daughter together

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 11, 2020

You, not the children, have a right to live in the house for life. They may argue that you have abandoned this right by leaving. Given the circumstances and depending on your evidence, the judge may not agree.

In any event, you keep your 50% community property interest in the house and...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Texas on
Q: My father will not willingly share any of the money from grandmother foreclosed home.any options?

My uncle ended up racking up $27,000 worth of back taxes and so the bank foreclosed on the home and he was evicted my cousin whose father has passed away revieved a part of the money that was left after the taxes were paid and the rest was split between my father,uncle and cousin (whos father... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 5, 2020

Your father and uncle are heirs. You are not.

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: I need help knowing what to do to transfer a car title in a different state after my mother passed.

My mother recently passed. She lived in Louisiana and I live in Texas. I am her only heir and she was not married. She did not have a will and everything was left to me. She has an old car that was last registered in Louisiana that I would like to transfer over to my name in Texas. Her registration... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 5, 2020

What you should do depends on how your mother left everything to you. If she named you on a deed which transferred her home on her death and named you as designated beneficiary on any life insurance policy or retirement account and as pay-on-death on any bank and transfer-on-death on any brokerage... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Estate Planning and Probate for Texas on
Q: My mother is the executor of my dad's will and the sole beneficiary. She is also in prison for his death. what do do?

She's in prison for manslaughter and I have step siblings waiting to file wrongful death suit. How should probate be handled?

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 4, 2020

Hire a probate lawyer who practices in the county in which your father died to guide you through this process. If the Will does not appoint a successor executor to your mother, the court may appoint one. It may also be that you and your siblings ask the court to set aside the Will and agree to... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Probate for Texas on
Q: If there was no hearing for a will how would I go about trying to void the change after the diagnosis?

My father has a personal Vendetta against me. He has not been looking out in my mother's best interest. Or else he wouldn't have deprived her of the knowledge of an opportunity to live. I was a blood match and he was supposed to be making decisions and helping her gather information in... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 2, 2020

A Will has no legal effect until it is admitted to probate.

Only your mother can change her Will. If you believe that she did not have legal capacity to do so when the change was made, you may be able to contest the Will when it is presented to the local probate court. As you seem to...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning for Texas on
Q: I have a trust setup for $ (undesclosed amount) a month. My father gave a bank the trustee control without bond.

As trustee the bank shall in it's sole and uncontrolled discretion irrespective of any source of income shall support, maintain, educate or benefit me. Recently

I received a letter stating that I have been requesting too much extra revenue for medical and maintenance needs. The trustee... View More

Terry Lynn Garrett
PREMIUM
Terry Lynn Garrett
answered on Nov 1, 2020

Many beneficiaries mistakenly think that money held in trust is their money. It is not. It belongs to the trust and is to be distributed according to the terms of the trust agreement. If you think the distributions do not meet the terms of the trust, show your invoices and bills to the trustee.... View More

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