Hidalgo, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

If the Will meets the other requirements and is witnessed by two disinterested persons, of which you can locate one to sign an appropriate affidavit, the Will may be valid. If it is not witnessed and is solely in her own handwriting, and the will is dated, signed and sets froth that it intends to dispose of her property upon her death, it may be valid as a holographic Will. You should probably speak with an attorney and have the Will reviewed.

The person named in father's will needs to petition the court to be appointed personal representative. Probate should be started in the county he called home, or where he had assets; if there is real property, there will have to be a probate in that state. Get a lawyer to help with this process. It is far less expensive to do it right from the beginning than to fix it after the fact.

Living trusts are excellent devices for older couples that are very organized. In order to make a living trust work, you have to transfer assets regularly into the trust as opposed to personally owned. ?You have to track asset sales (if you sell a car owned by the trust, the proceeds are trust money not personal money. With younger couples, there is a tendency to ignore the technicalities of the trust and treat all assets as personal, then when there is a death the judge has no choice but to declare the trust has no assets and then you don't have a will or a trust. As an aside, there are a number of shady life insurance or investment salespeople who push living trusts very hard like they are the solution to every problem but what happens is the second they get your payment for the life insurance, they disappear and you get no help in implementing and maintaining the trust. A living trust is a way to avoid the costs of probate but the cost of a properly executed living trust - for most families is more than the cost of probate. ?Obviously, a wealthy family (assets in excess of $10 million) has entirely different considerations, particularly a family that controls a successful business. For most couples, wills and a careful review of the non-probate assets - (life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, inheritances, pensions and various other assets ARE NOT CONTROLLED BY THE WILL - this is a particular problem where the couple isn't married) are the best option.