Barstow, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

I am assuming there is no will. Without a will and with no surviving spouse, the estate is divided equally among the kids. However, if the house was deeded lawfully before death then it is NOT part of the estate since it was not in the name of the deceased at death. To challenge the transfer that was made before death you will have to prove fraud or breach of fiduciary duty (if the person was guardian or attorney in fact). It will be an expensive undertaking (I would be surprised if it was less than $20,000) so the value of the estate will have to be big enough to cover the costs or you won't have much luck getting an attorney. I always tell folks to wait until they are through their grief before they make a decision on something like this.

This is probably not something he should do, unless there are lots of other facts. If your husband was the only heir of his brother, it would make it a little easier to say yes. Same thing if the brother's Will says everything goes to your husband. If a court approved it. More information is needed.

Good questions. I suggest asking the court directly, or checking the court's website for such information. The court clerks should be able to help you. They probably will forward some instructions to you, which may even include a booklet of duties and generally asked questions. As to the fee, that depends upon the state. Some have statutory limits, for others it is some "reasonable compensation" standard that the judge determines. I suggest asking the court clerks this questions too. In general it depends upon the work performed and the general costs to have such work done. For example, accounting or legal work would entail higher fees than merely administrative or secretarial work. Best course of action is to keep track of all your time, what you did, and all costs (with receipts) for reimbursement.