Probate cases don’t end with one neat judgment the way most lawsuits do. A single estate can produce several orders over months or years, and some of them can be appealed right away. If you miss the deadline to appeal one of those orders, you can lose the issue for good. So it matters a...KEEP READING
Original wills go missing all the time. Someone moves into assisted living, a house gets cleaned out, papers get shuffled, and years later the family finds a copy of the will but not the signed original. Texas lets you probate a copy, but you have to prove more than you would with the original in...KEEP READING
Most people picture a will being signed the same way: a pen, a signature line on the last page, and a full name written out in front of witnesses. But people who draft their own wills don’t always follow the script. Sometimes the signature line gets skipped entirely. When that happens, the family is left...KEEP READING
A lot of people think a will does its job the moment someone dies. The will says the house goes to you, so the house is yours. You keep living there, paying the taxes and fixing the roof, and nobody says otherwise. Then years later you try to sell, refinance, or hire a contractor, and...KEEP READING
Mom gets sick. One of her kids drives in from out of state, packs a bag, and brings her home “just until things get sorted out.” A few months later another sibling takes her to a third state and says she is staying. Now three states each have some claim to her, and everyone wants...KEEP READING
Many families keep the same financial advisor for decades, even when that advisor changes firms three or four times. Mom’s investment account follows the advisor from one brokerage to the next, and nobody thinks twice about it. Then Mom dies, and her will leaves “my account at Firm X ending in 1234” to specific people....KEEP READING
A parent dies. Years later, the family learns that money they expected to inherit went into a trust that leaves them out. Suspicion turns into a lawsuit. But before anyone gets to the question of who misled whom, a more basic problem can derail the case: are these family members even the right people to...KEEP READING
When a parent dies with a modest estate and no will, Texas gives families a shortcut. Instead of opening a full administration, the heirs can file a small estate affidavit, get it approved by the probate court, and collect the property without anyone being appointed administrator. Often a few family members make it even simpler...KEEP READING
Most parents assume the custody fights end when a child turns eighteen. That isn’t always true. When an adult child can’t manage his own affairs, divorced parents can end up back in court, this time fighting over who gets appointed guardian. The stakes are the same as a custody case: medical care, where the child...KEEP READING
Business partners often agree that whoever outlives the other gets the first shot at buying out the deceased partner’s share. Ranching families do it. Oil and gas investors do it. Owners of closely held companies do it. The surviving partner assumes the deal will simply play out once the other partner passes away. But what...KEEP READING
