Q: No assets left to estate should a will even be probated?
My father in law passed away 2 years ago. The executor of his estate never filed the will into probate. The only assets left by him were a car and house. Car was repossessed and the house sold in foreclosure auction and there are excess funds. Is there any reason at this point to bother with filing the will in probate?
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A: The main purpose of probate is to transfer assets that are still in the name of a deceased person. If there are no such assets, not much purpose would be served by opening a probate.
A: You're still within the four-year timeline for probate, so if there excess funds, I would absolutely probate. Even though probate requires an attorney in most cases, most of our probate clients expect the cost to be much higher than they actually are. The Texas probate process is relatively affordable and fast.
A: You may need to do a heirship to get the excess funds from the sale of the house
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