Johnson City, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

I am assuming there is no will. Without a will and with no surviving spouse, the estate is divided equally among the kids. However, if the house was deeded lawfully before death then it is NOT part of the estate since it was not in the name of the deceased at death. To challenge the transfer that was made before death you will have to prove fraud or breach of fiduciary duty (if the person was guardian or attorney in fact). It will be an expensive undertaking (I would be surprised if it was less than $20,000) so the value of the estate will have to be big enough to cover the costs or you won't have much luck getting an attorney. I always tell folks to wait until they are through their grief before they make a decision on something like this.

It sounds as though you need to take the Will to a local probate attorney and present it for probate.  A Small Estate Affidavit can only be used if there is no Will and if the person left no more than a home, personal possessions worth no more than $60,000 and other assets (such as bank accounts) worth no more than $75,000.  Some courts require that the heirs be the surviving spouse or minor children.

Now that she is deceased, the power of attorney is no longer effective. You need to open a probate estate for her and ask to be appointed the personal representative.