Your family member died without a Will, now what? Though it is almost always better for an individual to have a lawyer set up a Will or Trust while they are living, dying without a Will can pose significant problems. It usually causes dreaded delays for family members in obtaining their inheritance.
You may ask, does my inheritance disappear if my relative dies without a will? The answer is no, the money or house does not just disappear into the wind. “Luckily” when someone dies without a will, the State of Texas was kind enough to draft one for you.
For those who do not take action and die without a Will, you have just chosen to let the State of Texas choose your heirs for you. The State has a rather complicated, comprehensive, and unpredictable scheme to divide your property. For example, like a long-since separated spouse having the right to live in the home over the dead person’s children. (No there is no such thing as common law divorce.)
If your family member dies without a Will and you and the other heirs cannot decide on someone to oversee handling the property, then the dead person’s property ends up in a “dependent administration.” This is best described as a legal nightmare, and many lawyers refuse to handle these cases, including this Firm. Yes, you read that right, the cases are such a mess, lawyers will turn down business before getting involved.
In a dependent administration, you can expect many trips to court, legal fees, attorney fees, and other complications which will eat away at your inheritance and leave you waiting for a significant amount of time before you see a dime.
Above I talked about the state having a plan to split up property among “heirs.” Of course, heirs are just people who are entitled to property from a dead person by way of law. Heirs can include: spouses, children, parents, siblings, cousins, etc., depending on the situation. But, the Judge does not just take the family’s word for it.
You have to go through the process of getting a court-appointed attorney (an attorney ad litem the official Latin name). That attorney, who does not work for free, charges his or her time to figure out who the rightful family and heirs are. Also, this takes time, and while this process plays out, you are waiting for your inheritance.
At the end of this “heirship determination” the Judge will rule who the rightful heirs to the property are, and then the state’s scheme, described above, determine who gets what… if anything at all.
Well, that depends on the agreeability of family members as I talked about above. If the family members agree on a person to be in charge, then that person can split up the property with relative ease. Sometimes, that person is required to put up a bond. Yes, a bond, like a bail bond. Even in this “good case,” the time it takes to get here can certainly be a stress on the family, especially as the person who died has bills that continue to come due.
Indian Guru, Sadhguru made the joke, “Death always seems to happen to someone else.” And indeed, it does, but it will happen to you too. Do not put your family through this mess. Do not cause unneeded delay and costs. Choose who you want to get your property. Let your self rest … in peace. So consider hiring a lawyer to do your will.
For more probate information visit the probate page.
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Mr. Evan B. Lange is the attorney responsible for this website. | All meetings are by appointment only. | Principal place of business: Sugar Land, Texas.
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