Q: My brother died 2 months ago. He has a will and my cousin is the executor as well as a beneficiary and my two grown sons
My cousin will not provide copies of the will to my sons and does not want to probate the will. My brother leaves nothing but personal belongings and a car. The executor says the beneficiaries will be responsible for probation fees up to $10k. This is a plain incontestable will. Nothing specific left to anyone. State of Texas. When do beneficiaries have to pay something instead of inherit but there is nothing to inherit?
A:
Probate does not cost $10k. Typical cost is more like $2k-$3k, at least with our office. You can talk with a probate attorney. Probate is done in the county in which the decedent resided at death. If he died in Hawkins, you could probably get a probate attorney in the Dallas area to handle the probate for you.
I'm not sure you need to probate for just tangible items, though. As long as everyone is getting the tangible items that they're supposed to get under the terms of the will, it may not even be the worth the cost to probate. If there's anything else, such as accounts or real estate, then the will really should be probated.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
