Seguin, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

My practice is to leave each child 100 dollars, which shows that you thought about them when planning your estate. Or you could mention each one and specifically disinherit each child. You have to be very specific as to your intentions.

Making a claim against an estate for in-home care of a friend or loved one can be difficult. The truth is that many times these claims often fall under the category of "things that you would have done anyway." Effectively, you are taking the position of being a creditor owed a debt by the estate for the services that you provided. As with any creditor's claim, much of the viability is found in the details. Was there an agreement of some kind between you and the decedent, verbal, or in writing? Was there an expectation of remuneration on your part and expectation of payment for the services on the decedent's part? Is it possible to prove a debt and recover a part of the estate for your services? Sure. Whether or not it is likely depends far too much on the specific arrangement. Your best bet is to consult with a probate attorney near you to outline all of the relevant facts involved.

Probate is a court ordered process for transferring the assets of a decedent to heirs and making sure creditors are paid. You could do a probate yourself, but given the notices that are required and the limits on what you are supposed to do it would be best to hire a lawyer. The process takes about 5 months if there are no complications. It starts with a petition that includes a death certificate and information about all heirs and beneficiaries. If there is no will, you will almost certainly have to post a bond to be appointed as personal representative. Once the petition is approved by the court, you would be appointed as personal representative and given authority to gather and manage the decedent's assets and pay creditors. You would have to try to locate and send notices to all creditors and file an inventory of the decedent's assets. At the end of the probate, if the court is satisfied that creditors have been paid and there are no unresolved objections, the court would allow the decedent's assets to be distributed to you. If the decedent's assets were not high in value, it is possible to do a simpler small estate affidavit procedure instead of probate.