Dickinson, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

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.

If you signed as a responsible person on her accounts then you could be. If you received assets from her you could be responsible up to the value of the assets that you recently received. If the answer to both of those questions is "no," the you cannot be held responsible. If you answered "yes" to either or both, you should seek legal counsel.

First, I would make certain that a will has not been probated or that an estate has not been opened. Generally, the county clerk can tell you if a will has been probated. After the county clerk confirms nothing has been done to settle either of the estates, I suggest you contact an attorney. You will basically need the help of an attorney to open back-to-back estate administrations for your father and grandfather. Note that this could be fairly expensive to do. Although the estate generally pays for the cost of administration (court costs, attorney fees, etc.), this could be a challenge if you don't have possession of any of the estate property.