Angleton, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

It means two things.  First, you agree that you do not need to know the date of the hearing and be present.  Second, it means that you agree that your stepmother should be able to administer your father's estate free of court supervision.  This means that she does need to submit an inventory but does not need the court's permission to sell, for example, your father's car and does not need to provide an accounting to the court.  A beneficiary may nonetheless request an accountign 15 months after the executor is appointed. Are you sure that a Will is being probated?  Ordinarily, beneficiaries are notified after, not before, a Will is admitted to probate.  In an intestacy, heirs are asked to sign a distributee's waiver of notice and consent to application for independent administration before the hearing.  

Your friend, not you, should ask questions.  The basic question is whether the trust agreement is valid.  The follow up question is a request for an explanation of its terms.  Further questions depend on the answers to these and on the current situation.

A Power of Attorney is a sharing of rights between living people, and it is void upon the death of the principal. Not to make light of a death, but dead people do not own property - that is the role of probate. There is no requirement that a will be presented for probate, but often a properly executed will is the simplest way to start the probate process. See what property remains in the decedent's name, and if that property cannot be transferred to the heirs or beneficiaries (real estate, financial accounts with no named beneficiary), contact a local attorney to see what form of probate best suits the needs of the estate.