If a family member has died intestate (without a will), what are the next steps to transferring the property of the decedent’s estate? Probate can be overwhelming and an expensive process. Currently, any executor, administrator, or guardian in Harris County must be represented by counsel. What are my options if the estate is small and only consists of property that amounts to $75,000 or less? Probate may not be required in this case if the transfer of property qualifies for a Small Estate Affidavit.
Read moreThe Beat Goes On: Kerouac at 100 and the Battle Over His Estate
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March 12 marks the 100th birthday of literary legend, Jack Kerouac. Though he died in 1969, his legacy as “King of The Beats” lives on. Today, his estate is worth millions, and the complicated fight for his fortune more than 70 years after his death is still unresolved. It’s fraught with familial infighting, righteous desperation, and outright greed, as well as an allegedly suspect signature on Kerouac’s putative will.
Read moreWills and Probate Resource Month - October 2018
October is Wills and Probate Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. All month long, you will find materials on wills, estate planning, and probate and trust administration on display in the Law Library and online.
Self-Help Guides from Nolo Press
Nolo’s Plan Your Estate is your go-to estate planning guide. With coverage of common estate planning goals, such as leaving property, providing for minors, planning for incapacity, avoiding probate, and reducing the estate tax, it is a go-to source for easy-to-understand estate planning information. Another useful Nolo resource is Estate Planning Basics. Both of these Nolo titles can be found in our Self-Help Collection in the Law Library. For assistance in finding these guides, please ask a member of the reference staff.
TexasLawHelp Wills & Estate Planning
TexasLawHelp.org is an incredibly useful online legal research tool for the general public. Take a look at their Wills & Estate Planning resources for information about filing a small estate affidavit, a transfer on death deed, or an affidavit of heirship. Also find a link to the Texas Probate Passport, a publication of the Texas Young Lawyer’s Association.
Harris County Law Library Research Guides
Visit our Research Guides page to download a free copy of our Probate, Trusts, and Estates Research Guide. This topical guide helps you quickly find the most practical resources available at the Law Library, including the Texas Probate System, a State Bar of Texas publication, and O’Connor’s Texas Probate Law Handbook (both of which are pictured above).Ask for these and other titles at the Law Library reference desk.
Latest & Greatest – O’Connor’s Texas Probate Law Handbook
By Craig Hopper and D’Ana H. Mikeska
Published by O’Connor’s
KFT 765 .H67
The newest edition to the library’s collection of O’Connor’s books, O’Connor’s Texas Probate Law Handbook, guides the user through the probate process in Texas. The authors begin their book with an overview of Texas probate law and some initial matters that should be considered following a person’s death, including the steps taken after the death, the information that needs to be gathered, gaining access to safe-deposit boxes and personal documents, protecting personal property, and the handling of nonprobate assets. The authors then move onto the nuts and bolts of settling a decedent’s estate, tackling such procedural topics as filing a probate proceeding, opening an administration, and filing and paying any taxes. They detail the rights, duties, and powers of personal representatives and explain how a personal representative administers an estate in a dependent administration and in an independent administration. A chapter is devoted to the legal requirements that a will must satisfy to be admitted to probate. What if there is no will? No worries. The authors spend an entire chapter discussing the laws governing intestate succession. Will contests and alternatives to probate are also addressed in detail.
As is typical with many of the publications from O’Connor’s, the charts are immensely helpful and clarify many of the more confusing issues. These include: determining the appropriate procedure when there is a will and when there is no will, an overview of the intestacy laws, proving proper execution of the will, the personal representative’s duty to file federal tax returns, the priority of payment regarding creditors’ claims, and many more.
If you are looking for a little guidance in handling your next estate administration, come to the Harris County Law Library and have a look at O’Connor’s Texas Probate Law Handbook. You can find it at the reference desk.
Latest & Greatest – Texas Probate Forms & Procedures
By M. Keith Branyon
Published by James Publishing
KFT 1244 .A6 B73
January is Wills and Probate Resource Month here at the Harris County Law Library, so we are featuring various resources to assist you with your wills drafting, estate planning, and probate administering needs. In this regard, we are pleased to announce the acquisition of a new title: Texas Probate Forms & Procedures. Featuring more than 200 sample forms, this book covers the steps of the probate process from the initial client interview and engagement through the closing of the administration and so much more. The author begins by discussing the considerations involved in choosing the appropriate types of proceedings and administrations as well as the proper venue and court. He pays particular attention to the various administrations that exist here in Texas, such as temporary, independent, and dependent administrations and explains the steps involved in the process from the preparing and filing of the initial application to the hearing and the attendant duties that fall upon the representatives in each type of administration. The author also focuses upon other proceedings and probate alternatives, such as: muniment of title, determination of heirship, small estate affidavits, and orders of no administration. You can also find chapters devoted to emergency procedures, such as emergency applications prior to probate and examination of documents, the procedures involved with probating a foreign will, the handling of creditors and their claims, tax considerations, and will contests.
Be sure to have a look at Texas Probate Forms & Procedures and all of other wills and probate law resources the next time you visit the Harris County Law Library.
