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The day after a funeral, a surviving spouse may be standing in the family home with unpaid medical bills on the kitchen counter and a creditor's notice near the front door. The questions arrive before the grief has settled: Can the family remain in the house? Who can take the furniture? Will creditors force a
Estates Code 353 Homestead and Exempt Property Set Aside Texas: A Guide Read More »
In Texas, an interested person may file written opposition under Estates Code §55.001 at any time before the court decides the issue, but a separate will contest generally must be filed within 2 years after a will is admitted to probate. That difference matters more than many families realize. If you're reading probate papers, feeling
Estates Code 55.001 Filing Opposition in a Texas Probate Proceeding Read More »
In Texas, an executor can often sell estate property without unanimous beneficiary approval if the will grants a power of sale or the estate is under independent administration, but the exact authority depends on the probate type. A dependent administration generally requires court approval before estate real property is sold. A grieving family may face
Can an Executor Sell Property Without All Beneficiaries Approving Texas Read More »
Maria lives in Houston and expected some family stress after her father died. She didn't expect her brother, the named executor, to stop returning calls altogether. Weeks became months. Maria didn't know which probate court handled the estate, whether the will had been admitted, what assets were being collected, or whether her inheritance was still
Executor Not Communicating with Beneficiaries Texas Read More »
A manila envelope sits on the kitchen table beside a death certificate. Your family has found what appears to be the original will, but no one knows whether to take it to the county clerk, a probate court, or another state office. If you're asking, “Where are wills filed in Texas?”, the short answer is
Where Are Wills Filed in Texas: A Complete Guide Read More »
Have you been told that Texas children are legally guaranteed an inheritance just because they're children? That assumption makes the phrase forced heirship Texas especially confusing. Texas families often use it to describe any inheritance rule that limits a surviving spouse's control, but Texas no longer follows a modern forced-heirship system that reserves property for
Forced Heirship Texas: What the Law Actually Says Read More »
After your mother dies, you may find yourself standing at a Texas bank with a death certificate, a folder of estate documents, and no clear answer about who can access her money. A teller may mention a payable-on-death, or POD, designation, then explain that the account may not need to go through probate. That sounds
Payable on Death Account Texas: A 2026 Guide Read More »
The phone call usually comes at the worst possible moment. A Sugar Land family is still trying to get through the first shock of loss, and then someone asks the practical question that nobody feels ready to answer, “What do we do now?” If there's a house in the name of the person who died,
Probate Attorney Sugar Land: A 2026 Texas Guide Read More »
Two weeks after losing a spouse, a Katy family may find itself sorting mail at the kitchen counter in Cinco Ranch or Olde Katy, trying to separate grief from paperwork. A stack of bills sits beside a life insurance policy. The mortgage payment is still being pulled from a joint account. A county appraisal notice
Probate Lawyer Katy: A Guide for Texas Families Read More »
A grieving family often has one practical question waiting in the driveway: who legally owns the car now? A widowed spouse may be ready to use the paid-off sedan, while adult children are trying to honor the deceased person's wishes and avoid a dispute. The keys are easy to hand over. The title is not.
Transfer Car Title After Death Texas Read More »
