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Dad's will in probate his widow states she is only beneficiary of dad's estate period. Also does not have to provide inventory list since she is ONLY heir. On aff. Of heirship on house she lies and says dad died without a will then 1 month later puts a will thru probate.
answered on Sep 5, 2024
It is possible to have both a trust and a will that affect an estate. If you are a named beneficiary in the trust, but your stepmother claims to be the sole beneficiary in the will, it is important to distinguish between what assets the trust controls and what the will governs. Trust assets... 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
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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
I applied for legal assistance through Texas legal aid and was told the executive director didn't handle the shares properly and I was told to get a private attorney because I have a case.
answered on Aug 13, 2024
Yes, our firm handles such cases. However, this is not the type of case that a private attorney is likely to handle on a contingency fee. You should assume that you will need to pay a reasonable fee at an hourly rate for services and deposit a reasonable initial retainer before a private attorney... View More
If a will stipulates that each heir receives 25% of assets and there is a specific financial account that has listed two beneficiaries, would the amount received from that account count as part of the division of assets?
answered on Jul 26, 2024
If an account specifically names POD beneficiaries, the funds on deposit in that account become the property of the beneficiaries upon the death of the account holder outside of the decedent's probate estate.
The decedent's Will only disposes of assets in the decedent's... View More
I recorded two documents with County Clerk on same day: (1) Cancellation of Transfer on Death Deed (using Texas Transfer Toolkit Dec 2015 form) to revoke a TODD I recorded in Jan 2016 and (2) revised TODD which carries the Document Number following the one assigned to the Cancellation.... View More
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answered on Jul 23, 2024
You definitely have a title problem. Hire a TX attorney to search the title, then draft some replacement deeds and some correction deeds. The consideration clauses should explain what each deed's purpose is, and will also need extensive derivation of title clauses to avoid confusion.
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
Back taxes and the city is about to sell the house and she loses it. There is a will my dad left for the house but she never filed it. If the house was sold it would be split among us children. These taxes are from her failing to pay them the past two years since my dad died. How do I gain control... View More
answered on Jul 1, 2024
A power of attorney expires when the maker dies. When your dad died, any power of attorney he signed naming your sister ended.
Since your father left a will and you are an heir under that will, you have the right to file an application for probate of the will. If someone else (e.g. your... 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
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
answered on Jun 18, 2024
As a general rule, a spouse is not liable for a debt incurred by the other spouse unless the debt was incurred for "necessaries" (e.g. food, clothing, shelter) or the spouse was acting as an agent for the other spouse. Obviously, if you had jointly signed on a debt or filed a joint tax... 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
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.
My SS retirement income and personal resources make me eligible, but there's also a 30 year old, irrevocable, testamentary, spendthrift trust from my father in which I am the beneficiary, and the trustee has full discretion regarding any disbursements .
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answered on May 28, 2024
As a general rule, the Social Security Administration takes the position that if a trust beneficiary does not have the legal authority to revoke or terminate a third party trust (a trust created by neither the beneficiary nor the beneficiary's spouse) or to direct the use of the trust assets... View More
My dad bought a mausoleum for two caskets in Virginia about 1972 for him and my mom, with my sister and me mentioned in the deed. He and my mom divorced about 1975, and he remarried a few years later, to a woman who already had a daughter. I don't know if dad had a will that included his new... View More
answered on May 20, 2024
While you have no duty to do anything, you could become guilty of theft by fraud if you sell the interest in the mausoleum and your dad left his interest to someone other than you.
You say that you and your sister are "mentioned" in the deed. If not apparent from the language... View More
How do I keep my Ssi and Medicaid ? I heard they’re is certain trust or something called a spend down, I need legal advice!
answered on May 10, 2024
This would be a great opportunity to set up a Supplemental Needs Trust (Special Needs Trust). If the funds go directly to the trust, your ability to receive governmental funding should not be affected. You would need to name a trustee that would handle the trust. A Supplemental Needs Trust is... View More
I wrote to Insperity Holdings about my late husband's estate and and investment account, since Insperity Holdings is the HR company for the company my husband worked for. I wrote another important person high up in the company, never have heard a word from either of them. Aren't they... View More
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answered on May 6, 2024
Without knowing the situation, it is possible the accounts had a Beneficiary designation on there that was NOT you.
If the money went to someone else, you have no right to know about this, as you are not the beneficiary.
If the accounts had no beneficiary, then you should go through... View More
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