Floydada, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Texas is a community property state, so once your father married your stepmother, the property and income they acquired became community property. Because your father died without a will, the Texas intestate succession laws apply. They determine who is entitled to what part of your dad's estate. Because he left behind a fairly large amount of property, it is necessary for his estate to go through the legal proceeding known as administration. Please make sure to consult with an attorney who is experienced in this type of law. Your step mother's 401k belongs to her. It will be up to her to determine who should inherit it because from your question it appears she is still alive. If she writes a will, that will determine who is entitled to her 401k and retirement accounts.

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.

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.