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My dad was involved in a Roundup lawsuite that close to payout now, but the attorney handling his case will not accept an affidavit of heirship and and has told us they have to have sufficient proof of authority under Texas state law establishing her ability to settle my dad’s case on behalf all... View More 
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answered on Nov 8, 2024
My condolences as it is always hard to lose a parent. You will need to start a probate proceeding in Texas. In most Texas counties they require that you have an attorney since you are not representing yourself actually you are representing the decedent's estate. One issue is that in Texas you... View More
My late brother's children sent me a letter asking for their fair share of the estate. Do I need permission from them to sell my parent's house if I am the only remaining member of our immediate family, as my mom passed last year, and my brother in 2013?
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answered on Nov 5, 2024
My condolences as I lost my mother 3 years ago and know that is extremely painful so sorry for your loss. To answer your question, No, the authority granted by the power of attorney terminated at the time your dad died. Since he didn't have a Will the rules provided by Texas's estate code... View More
My late brother's children sent me a letter asking for their fair share of the estate. Do I need permission from them to sell my parent's house if I am the only remaining member of our immediate family, as my mom passed last year, and my brother in 2013?
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answered on Nov 5, 2024
You will have to follow your dad's will, and probate it. Presuming he had a will. If he had no will, then the laws of intestacy of your state will govern who gets what. You will not be able to use the POA to sell the house, a POA "dies" when the person granting it died. You will have... View More
My Dad has a huge depot card and my sis is a card holder. Recently the fridge broke and then the microwave. She bought new ones, BOTH charged to home Depot with the credit card. I had found a cheaper microwave at Walmart but she insisted it come from home Depot. The fridge was over $3000. Does she... View More
answered on Oct 22, 2024
A cardholder who is an authorized user of someone else's credit card is not the person legally responsible for the debt. The account holder is responsible for the debt and can authorize whomever he likes to make charges on his credit card account. Since you are not the account holder, you... View More
to put the property in a family trust. What needs to be done to accomplish this ?
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answered on Oct 17, 2024
Hire an OK attorney to search the title, determine heirship and draft a deed from the tenants in common over to the Trustee for the Trust. Attorney will need to draft the Trust Instrument with the TIC appointing someone Trustee. Deed must convey to the Trustee of the Trust, not the Trust... View More
My dad and stepmom are both on the deed/title to home. Stepmom just recently passed away and dad is looking to get a home equity loan for the property which is completely paid off. Stepmom has 2 adult children as heirs and there was no will. How could this be navigated to be able to get the loan?
answered on Oct 11, 2024
If the title to the property was held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or tenants by the entirety, your father would own the property solely in his name upon the passing of your stepmother. If the title was not held as joint tenants with right of survivorship or tenants by the entirety,... View More
My grandad just passed away he had no will. So his oldest daughter is making decisions she is selling his property she claims will be divided. She ain't one to trust so what should I do to claim my father's part in his father's estate?
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answered on Oct 8, 2024
I would highly recommend that you consult with a probate attorney as there are numerous additional facts needed to provide an answer. If no application for probate has been filed then you could potentially open a probate case allowing for a legal distribution of the decedents property. You should... View More
Brother is contesting me being executor. Will that hold up eviction. No judge order has been issued JP ruled in our favorite is appealing to higher court civil coirt. Will the contest hold up evictioncase
answered on Sep 20, 2024
The eviction case will be stopped while the case is on appeal. However, your niece should be required to pay rent while the appeal is pending. Once the appeal is resolved, you can move forward with the eviction. If you are removed as executor, your ability to evict will also be removed, so your... View More
My dad died and he had a truck he was paying on. His ex wife was a co signer when they got the truck when they were married. They got divorced and he got the truck. But the registration didn't reflect the divorce winner getting the truck it has both of them on it. He's been making the... View More
answered on Sep 9, 2024
If the truck was awarded to your father in his divorce decree, it passed at the time of his death to his heirs. While he should have transferred title to the truck into his sole name and paid off or refinanced the loan, the divorce decree is a muniment of title reflecting that the truck was... View More
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
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
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
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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
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
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
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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
I live in Texas
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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
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