Q: My Dad died in March, 2017. He left a big mess for me to deal with. He had allowed his home to be put into foreclosure.
This was done in Sept, 2015. Still in Court. Also, he has left a debt to Texas Medicaid and the IRS and other taxing authorities. All that is left is some Canadian stock worth about $30000. I have notified all debtors of the stock as of a year ago. No one has responded. My question is do I have to probate his estate? What is I cannot afford the filing fee?
What do I do? Can I access the stock to pay the filing fee if probate is necessary?
A: Talk to a local probate lawyer. Based on your description, you and any other heirs may be able to file an Affidavit of Small Estate. The filing fee varies from county to county but is generally a little over $300. You would be wise to hire a probate lawyer to look it over and file it for you: in most counties over 90% are rejected due to one small error or another.
A: It is possible that your Dad named someone as a beneficiary on the stocks themselves. I would contact the company managing them and find out if there is a named beneficiary. If there is a named beneficiary then the asset is considered to be "outside" of the estate and there would be no need for probate to gain ownership.
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