Q: Who inherits an estate in Texas without a will, involving cousins, debts, and real estate?
I am trying to determine the next in line for inheritance for an estate in Texas without a will. The deceased had no children and was never married. Both parents and grandparents have passed away. I am a first cousin. If one cousin is deceased and their spouse is also deceased, would their children inherit their part? Additionally, the deceased cousin had a brother who is also deceased and was married but had no children; would his surviving spouse inherit any part? There are also debts associated with the estate, and no probate has been started. The estate includes real estate.
A:
Take your family tree starting with the decedent's grandparents and including all of the grandparents' deceased descendants to a probate lawyer in or near the county where you live.
With the decedent being single and childless, and both parents having died first, the decedent's estate would pass to the decedent's siblings and their descendants first.
If the decedent had no siblings or all of their siblings and their siblings' descendants died before them, half of the decedent's estate would pass to the decedent's paternal kin (paternal grandparents and their descendants) per stirpes and half of the estate would pass to the decedent's maternal kin (maternal grandparents and their descendants) per stirpes.
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