When Do I Have to Probate in Texas?
After A Person Dies in Texas, Does the Will Have to Be Probated?
No. There is no legal requirement to probate a Last Will & Testament in probate court, even if you are named executor (or executrix) in the Will. If you have possession of a Last Will, you can merely hand it over to the local probate court without probating the Will.
However, the better question is: When Should I Probate A Will in Texas?
That’s a better question because most people want to probate the Will of a deceased person, because assets of the deceased person need to be transferred to the beneficiaries named in the Will. Put another way, a Will does not automatically transfer the deceased person’s assets after death. The Will legally does nothing until it has been to probate court. So, if a deceased person passes away with assets, you’ll want to meet with a probate attorney so that those assets can be legally transferred to the beneficiaries via the probate process.
When Would You NOT Want To Probate A Last Will?
If there are very few assets in the deceased person’s estate, you may not have incentive enough to probate the Will. For example, if your mother passed away with only a small bank account, it wouldn’t financially make sense to probate the Will because probate would cost more than the account is worth. Also, some estates are hopelessly insolvent. If the deceased person had too much debt, it may make sense to avoid probate.
What If You Don't Know If It's Worth It To Probate The Will?
Call a probate attorney near you for a free consultation. The probate lawyer will give you the probate alternatives, probate costs, and tell y0u whether or not it makes sense to go to probate court. Also, your free probate consultation will be much more useful if you bring a list of the assets, debts owed, and any important paperwork.
Clients are often surprised at how inexpensive probate court really is. In Texas, the probate process is generally easy and inexpensive, especially when compared to the probate process in other states. If you’ve heard from TV or read from some book that probate is terrible and takes forever and will cost you a fortune–fear not! In fact, when our probate attorneys meet with someone after the death of a loved one, the potential client is almost always pleasantly surprised at how affordable and fast the probate process is.
How to Contact a Texas Probate Attorney Now
Visit www.ShuttLawFirm.com for more information on a will beneficiary, duties as a executor or executrix, if you need to probate the Will, when you can avoid probate in Texas, or how much probate costs, contact Richardson, Texas probate lawyers by following this link.
Shutt Law Firm’s office is conveniently located just north of Dallas, TX, near the intersection of highway 75 and Arapaho Road in Richardson, TX.
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You can also call the Texas probate attorneys at (214) 302-8197 for more information on the topic discussed in this article or to discuss a different legal matter. Please consider the Shutt Law Firm if you need letters testamentary, to know if you should probate a Last Will, how to probate in Texas, Last Will and Testament, or you need a probate lawyer in Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Allen, McKinney, Garland, Addison, TX or surrounding North Texas area. Our law office handles probate cases all over Texas, and we’ve handled hundreds of probate cases in the Collin County Probate Court and Dallas County Probate Courts specifically.
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DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this brief article constitutes legal advice. The information provided herein is merely provided in the spirit of education. If you have a legal question, you should consult an attorney for your specific legal situation. Further, nothing in this article shall be construed to have started an attorney-client relationship. No such relationship exists until both you and a probate attorney from Shutt Law Firm PPLC sign an engagement letter.
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