10. You lost your Will. – While it is not impossible to probate a lost Will in Texas, it is exponentially harder to accomplish than with a valid written will. I won’t go into all the gory details, but unless you can show exactly how it was lost, and exactly what it...
For a lot of people, death and their own fragile mortality is the last thing that they want to discuss with anyone – let alone loved ones. We know that we are not going to live forever, but pondering our inevitable demise can steal the sun right out of the day, and so...
Each week, The Houston Chronicle runs a column entitled “State Your Case,” where local attorney Ron Lipman answers 4 or 5 questions from readers regarding various legal subjects. Recently, Lipman devoted the entire week’s column to estate planning and probate...
In the Wall Street Journal’s issue on November 12, 2009, Journal writer Jane Hodges offers a “Cranky Consumer” article in which she compares and contrasts various online programs to create a do-it-yourself Will. The article, entitled “Before It’s Too Late: A Test of...
An article concerning the probate of the Estate of local oil pioneer provides an interesting glimpse into the mind of potential jurors. I recently ran across a Houston Chronicle article concerning the Estate of Alfred C. Glassell. It seems the daughter of the oil...
February, 2006 By Jason Brower Question: “Is it true that the state gets everything if I die without a Will?” Concerned clients routinely ask this question expressing their concern in keeping the State from taking their hard-earned estate upon their deaths....
Part 2 By Jason Brower Question: “Is it true that the state gets everything if I die without a Will?” Four basic scenarios illustrate the division of separate property upon someone’s death. In the first and most common scenario, a person dies with a spouse and...
Part 1 By Jason Brower Question: “Is it true that the state gets everything if I die without a Will?” Concerned clients routinely ask this question expressing their concern in keeping the State from taking their hard-earned estate upon their deaths. Fortunately, the...
In a previous post, I began discussing some of the fact and evidence challenges in Will contests from the challenger’s perspective. Recall that I boiled down will contests to three basic varieties of complaints: (1) complaints about the technical execution of the...
With tax season looming over everyone’s heads, perhaps we could use a distraction and turn our attention to the other inevitability that Benjamin Franklin mentioned more than 200 years ago – death. But let’s not be morbid about it and dwell on our own mortality....