Loraine, TX Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

There is a lot to unpack in your question. Did your father have a will? Did you (or anyone) report your brother's theft while your father was alive? If your father had a will, you need to bring it to the attention of the probate court where he died. If he did not have a will, you will likely need to handle his estate through a process known as administration. Because you mention undue influence and breach of fiduciary duty, I assume your father had a will in place. But I could be in error. In any case, please contact an estate planning attorney as soon as possible to prevent further waste of your father's estate assets.

It's hard to know for 100% certainty who will get the house at this point. If he had taken steps, outside of a will, to give the house to someone-then, that may end up ultimately controlling what happens. If he hasn't done anything to transfer ownership of the house, if he has no will, then the Texas laws of intestate succession will control ownership of the house after he dies. In your case, the Texas laws of intestate succession would appear to give all of his property to his children in equal shares (including the house).

Open a probate (or, technically if no will, the administration of the estate). The executor can demand the return of property that is in the probate estate.