Q: I'm in Texas and need answers regarding if I can evict son and his family while estate of deceased spouse is in probate.
I moved out 2016 when I remarried and son & his family needed place to stay as they were having a baby. I told them it would be temporary 6 mths. No lease agreement done but asked them to try and pay me back for mtg. pmt. and utilities but they have not and it is now 14 mths. later. I got laid off in Jan. 2018 and cannot afford to continue making mtg pmts & pay utilities. Son won't leave. Have buyer for house and eviction paperwork is in the works. I did heirship affidavit with title co. and I hear that my son just filed his own heirship affidavit this week with county. We both live in Harris County. Please advise.
A:
Courts will not enforce an Affidavit of Heirship until it has been of record in the county clerk's office for five years with no one challenging it.
You may have more luck if you hire a local probate attorney to file an Application to Determine Heirship and for Letters of Independent Administration. When the court appoints you administrator, you will have both authority and a duty to take possession of the decedent's property and make it productive. As part of this, you can go to JP court to evict a squatter. Use the Find a Lawyer function of the State Bar of Texas website.
Gary D. Peak agrees with this answer
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