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Dad died. Stepmother put will thru probate . Told court judge she is ONLY heir of my dad. Then she draws up an estate settlement & distribution papers wanting us kids from previous marriage to sign giving us nothing & us signing over all separate property and two houses to her to do w as... View More 
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answered on Aug 29, 2024
Not necessarily. In most cases when there is a trust, the will is a pour over will leaving everything to the trust. However, the only way to find out is to see what the will says. Once a will is being probated, they are part of the public records of the probate court in the county where probate is... View More
Dad died. Stepmother put will thru probate . Told court judge she is ONLY heir of my dad. Then she draws up an estate settlement & distribution papers wanting us kids from previous marriage to sign giving us nothing & us signing over all separate property and two houses to her to do w as... View More
answered on Aug 29, 2024
A trust governs what has been contributed to it. Since the trust was never funded, it essentially does not exist.
Anything not in the trust (and not passing as a pay on death bank account, transfer on death brokerage account, or to a designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy,... View More
answered on Aug 27, 2024
An Affidavit of Heirship does not transfer title, even though title companies sometimes treat it as though it does. It is only evidence (not proof) of the statements in it if it has been of record with no one complaining for five years. The Affidavit of Heirship and a contest of its statements... View More
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answered on Aug 27, 2024
If a person contests an affidavit of heirship filed on a house in Texas, the following steps and potential outcomes may occur:
Initiation of a Legal Dispute: Contesting an affidavit of heirship typically leads to a legal dispute. The person contesting (the "contestant") must file... View More
Her lawyer buried us in paper work now lawyers want 5k /10k retainer we are on fix income we are not showing up in court my mom has Alzheimer's I have a Dr letter for her I don't want to go to court with out a lawyer can not afford one not fair bottom line can I be held in content of... View More
answered on Jul 12, 2024
If your brother had children, his estate will pass to those children or their descendants. If not, your brother's estate will pass to his parents, which would include your mom if she was also his mom.
Your brother's ex cannot inherit anything from your brother's estate... View More
answered on Jun 28, 2024
Property that is jointly titled does not automatically pass to the survivor unless specifically titled as "joint with right of survivorship." Otherwise, each owner on the title owns an undivided 50% interest in the property that passes to that owner's heirs as provided by law.... View More
No will or power of attorney, can my brother get into the account, and if he does once he gets a lawyer is there any way that he could keep it without letting me know? Will the courts get involved and handle this without me doing anything?
answered on Jun 20, 2024
You will need to file for probate of your father's estate. Once the probate has been filed, whoever is appointed as the personal representative of the estate will be required to provide an accounting of the estate assets. You will need to monitor the probate process to make sure it is being... View More
He told me there was nothing, and now I’m told there is some money at least in his bank account, It sounded like he was gonna have to get an attorney to access the account, he hasn’t told me anything and I haven’t asked….im wondering if I need to do something or if maybe an attorney and... View More
answered on Jun 19, 2024
If you do nothing, how will a court or attorney even know anything about it?
As an heir at law of your father, you have the right to file an application to probate your deceased father's estate. Even without a will, for a relatively simple and straightforward estate, probate is cheap,... View More
I live in Texas
answered on Jun 18, 2024
The easiest way to make sure everything goes to your wife is to provide for her in a Will that complies with all formalities required in TX. Generally, you need two witnessed that are in your presence when you sign your Will declaring to them its your Will and you are requesting them to witness you... View More
I live in Texas
answered on Jun 18, 2024
In order for your assets to go to a specific person, you need a valid Texas Will to handle your probate assets, or you need to name that person as the beneficiary on the assets/accounts for non-probate assets.
Failure to do do either of those may give others a right to those assets, or... View More
I live in Texas
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answered on Jun 19, 2024
Making a Will or a trust with your wife as only person to inherit would be a good start. Then like my colleague say, ensuring that your beneficiary designations are up to date, as well as any POD designations on accounts, and if applicable transfer on death designations on your home and... View More
Mother's only property is checking and savings account in California and a checking account in Texas. My sister and I are a co-owners of the California account and I'm the principal owner of the Texas account. Total value is under $70,000.
answered on Jun 18, 2024
I notice you refer to your sister as executrix. Is this based on the writing of the Will or did you go through probate? A Will has no legal effect until it has been deemed to comply with all the laws of the state, typically by going through probate. If your sister was appointed by a probate court... View More
His second ex wife signed a warranty deed.
The house was in my ex husbands name only, but yet when the house was sold one piece of paper was signed as married couple even though he was divorced from his second wife
He signed the papers in may 2022 and June he was deceased... View More
answered on Jun 17, 2024
Your question is a bit confusing. There is no prohibition on someone signing a warranty deed after a divorce. After a divorce, either ex-spouse is free to sign a warranty deed conveying real property awarded to that ex-spouse in the divorce or conveying real property bought or inherited by that... View More
Someone I know had a sibling with mental illness and addiction issues. His sister has a handwritten / crude “Will” that was notarized. He stayed with this sister regularly but was basically homeless. His adult child has come forward arguing that the money in his account belongs to her not his... View More
answered on Jun 6, 2024
If a valid Will names an executor, the person named as executor will most likely be appointed as executor if they are qualified and want to serve. A testator (the person who makes a Will) has no legal or other obligation to name a child as executor over a sibling. The child of the testator has no... View More
My Brother's (ages 18 & 26) Father died in May 2021. The home is paid off, but everything is in their deceased Father's name. Vehicles, Property,Bills etc... my brother was told he needs to get Probate taken care of in order to have everything transfered in his name. What are the... View More
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answered on Jun 5, 2024
There are some issues that need to be addressed. There is a 3 year time limit on filing for a Probate or Administration for an Estate in TX.
Since there was NO WILL, there MUST be an Administration filed to establish an Estate and to administer the same. An Administration is filed when... View More
There was a will put in place in 1973 my grandmother passed away in 2015 the probate was never challenged and my father passed away in 2019 my grandmother only had two children did my aunt having power of attorney give her the ability to override the wheel?
answered on Jun 3, 2024
A power of attorney ends when the principle who signed the power of attorney dies. A will does not go into effect until it is probated and a will can only be probated after the individual who signed it dies. So the attorney-in-fact named in a power of attorney cannot override a will.
I do not know who my biological father is and supposedly been left and inheritance of property and home or commercial property and business. I owe taxes for these and have no clue where they are or what exactly are the tax lien is against. Regardless the taxes are owed and in my name. How to find... View More
answered on May 20, 2024
If they are property tax liens, the liens themselves will identify where the property is located. At very least, they will identify the taxing authorities to which the taxes are owed, for example the name of the county, name of the city, and/or name of the school district. You can then search... View More
How does writ of possession pertain to probate no landlord tenant
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answered on Jun 3, 2024
A writ of possession is a court order granting the right to take possession of a property. In the context of probate, it typically comes into play when dealing with the estate of a deceased person. If an executor or administrator needs to take control of property that is part of the estate, but... View More
How does writ of possession pertain to probate no landlord tenant
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answered on May 15, 2024
A Writ of Possession is where the Court instructs the Sheriff to give possession of a property or apartment to someone, who has a newly granted legal right to possession of the property. Example, is when an heir (son of deceased), has received an Order or decision of a Probate Court, naming him as... View More
Have any rights to money from selling the home and property if the son disowned the family and even went so far as to change his last name and had nothing to do with the family in the state of Texas
answered on May 15, 2024
If the son is not the child of both the husband and wife, and the husband has died without a Will, the husband's one-half interest in the community property home passes to the son and any other surviving children or descendants of the husband per stirpes. Texas Estate Code sec. 201.003(c).... View More
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