Booth, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Whether or not you had children together is irrelevant.  Whether he had a child with someone else affects how his separate real property, if any, passes under the Texas laws of descent (real estate) and distribution (personal property). Pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs pass to the designated beneficiaries.  If you are named as the beneficiary, they pass to you.  If no beneficiary is named, pensions pass according to the rules of the pension plan, 401(k)s pass to the surviving spouse and IRAs pass to the estate.  Since IRAs are usually created with community assets, they are usually viewed as community property.  The surviving spouse retains her 50% community property interest.  The deceased spouse's community property interest passes according to his Will or, if there is none, according to the Texas laws of descent and distribution. In Texas, even if the home was separate property, purchased before the marriage and paid for with separate funds, the surviving spouse has a right to live in it for life. Please see a local probate attorney about probating (proving) your husband's estate.                

A power of attorney is a delegation or sharing of rights by a living person and is invalid after the death of the principle. An agent acting under power of attorney should have the document, though in Texas a copy of the document has the same force and effect as the original. Also in Texas, a medical power of attorney and a statutory durable power of attorney are generally 2 separate documents governing medical and financial matters, respectively. The statutory form for power of attorney in Texas requires the principle sign before a notary.