Pecos, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

If your parents reside in a community property state, or in a marital property state, then your mother would likely be held responsible for any debts your father incurred during marriage. Note that there are rare exceptions to this rule, and your mother may wish to consult with an attorney regarding her options. On the other hand, your father's children would likely not be held responsible for his debts, unless they entered into some type of personal guarantee.

Assuming all of the children are adults, you don't have to leave anything to them. A minor child is entitled to receive $2,500 from a parent's estate.

Depending on how things were set up, there may or may not be a Will and even if there is one, there may be no assets to pass under the Will. A Will covers only those assets that are in the decedent's name alone. Any assets that were jointly held or that have a designated beneficiary, pass outside of probate and outside the control of any Will. So finding the Will will not help you, if the assets were set up in such a way as to avoid probate.