Bowie, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

A will is only effective after the death of the creator (testator). A will requires opening a probate and appointing an executor to execute the terms of the will under the supervision of a court. There are extra expenses with a will resulting from opening a probate. An advantage of probate is that it cuts off claims against the estate at 6 months after opening the probate. A living (grantor) trust goes into effect while the creator (grantor) is alive. Assets are placed into the trust when created and can be dealt with by the grantor while alive. The living trust is fully amendable and revocable by the grantor. Successor trustees are named and thus upon the death or incapacity of the grantor the named successor trustee is able to act and deal with the trust estate without having to go to court. A successor trustee's ability to step in for the grantor could help avoid the necessity of a guardianship in the event of a loss of capacity. Creation and amendment of a living trust is not as formal as creation of or changing a will.

Your sister has no legal obligation to inform you of anything.  If there was no Will and you were an heir under Texas law, the attorney of the person applying to probate the estate would have sent you a Distributee's Agreement.  If there was a Will and you were a named beneficiary, the attorney for the person whom the Will appointed and the Court named as executor of the Will and estate would have sent you a Notice to Beneficiary after the Court admitted the Will to probate.  Based on your description, it appears that there was a Will and that you were not named as a beneficiary.

It depends. Has this gone through probate and been distributed to the heirs, already? Or is the property still in the estate? If it is in the estate, then the Personal Representative can sell without getting ANYONE else's consent.