When a court signs an order admitting a will to probate, most families assume the fight is over. Sometimes it is. But an order admitting a will can leave real questions unanswered, and if you guess wrong about whether the order was final, you can lose the right to appeal before you ever get a […] The post When a Probate Order… The post When a Probate Order Stops One… Continue reading When a Probate Order Stops One Day Short: Finality and the Right to Appeal in Texas

A spendthrift trust is supposed to be a wall. Someone sets up a trust for a family member, adds language saying creditors cannot touch it, and the money stays out of reach even if the beneficiary gets sued and loses. That is the whole point. But a wall is only as good as the words […] The post When a Trust Says… The post When a Trust Says “Mandated” but… Continue reading When a Trust Says “Mandated” but Means Discretionary: A Creditor’s Failed Garnishment

Picture a loved one in the final hours of her life. Someone close to her—someone she trusted enough to name as her agent under a durable power of attorney—rushes to change the beneficiary on her annuity. The paperwork gets faxed. The power of attorney gets attached. On the surface it looks like a routine beneficiary […] The post When a Power of… The post When a Power of Attorney Agent… Continue reading When a Power of Attorney Agent Names Himself the Beneficiary: The Hidden Trap in Annuity Beneficiary Changes

Blended families carry complicated histories into probate. When a parent leaves a will that treats children differently, or leaves one child out entirely, the stage is set for a fight. The child who received nothing has every reason to challenge the will. The real question is whether that challenge has legal teeth or just reflects […] The post When a Will Speaks… The post When a Will Speaks for Itself:… Continue reading When a Will Speaks for Itself: The Presumption of Non-Revocation in a Texas Will Contest

Picture this: a mother pays off a house over decades, lives in it, maintains it, and raises her family there, all while the original buyer’s name sits in the county property records. Then, years later, that original buyer files for bankruptcy and claims the house as her homestead exemption. What felt like a settled family […] The post When a Bankruptcy Filing… The post When a Bankruptcy Filing Doesn’t Save… Continue reading When a Bankruptcy Filing Doesn’t Save Your Property Claim: A Texas Title Dispute Resolved Through an Old “Affidavit of Transfer”

A disinheritance clause in a witnessed and notarized Texas will carries real weight. So when someone shows up in probate court claiming to be a biological child born outside of marriage and says the will was forged, the question is not just whether they can file the contest. It is whether they have any credible […] The post When the Will Speaks… The post When the Will Speaks for the… Continue reading When the Will Speaks for the Decedent: Contesting an Express Disinheritance Clause in Texas

A serious injury, a lawsuit, a summary judgment in your favor — and then the plaintiff passes away while the case is still grinding along. The estate steps in expecting to collect on what looks like a courtroom victory. Then the defendant’s insurer files its own lawsuit and says the judgment was wiped off the […] The post Interlocutory Judgments in Texas… The post Interlocutory Judgments in Texas Probate: When… Continue reading Interlocutory Judgments in Texas Probate: When a Dismissal Wipes Out Your Court Order

It can be challeging to be a guardian. The process can be time consuming and expensive. This is particularly true when the ward needs funds for their care, but the funds are not liquid. This raises questions as to whether a guardian can just sell illiquid assets to pay for the wards care expenses? What […] The post Emergency Guardianship Sales in… The post Emergency Guardianship Sales in Texas: When… Continue reading Emergency Guardianship Sales in Texas: When Can Courts Ratify Sales Completed Without Prior Approval?

Family disputes over estates often involve multiple fronts of litigation. A will contest might accompany challenges to beneficiary designations. Claims of undue influence might target both probate and non-probate assets. When the dust settles and the jury delivers a mixed verdict, upholding the will but invalidating an IRA designation, who pays the legal bills? This […] The post Does Partial Victory in… The post Does Partial Victory in Probate Litigation… Continue reading Does Partial Victory in Probate Litigation Guarantee Attorney Fee Recovery?

Payable-on-death (“POD”) accounts pass directly to named beneficiaries upon death through the contract with the financial institution. Probate court would seem the natural fit when disputes arise over who validly changed those designations. When someone dies, leaving bank accounts behind, family members typically expect the probate court to oversee the distribution of the funds. But […] The post Can Federal Courts Resolve… The post Can Federal Courts Resolve POD Account… Continue reading Can Federal Courts Resolve POD Account Disputes Despite the Probate Exception?