If I Die Without a Will, How Bad Could It Be?

If someone dies without a Will, does that guarantee years of probate expense?  There is no doubt that if someone dies without a Will, the cost to transfer their property will be higher than if they had a Will.  In most cases, an heirship proceeding is necessary which is about double the cost of probating a Will.

Also, dying without a Will means you have not chosen who gets your property, but you’re relying on the laws of the State of Texas to make those choices for you.  That often leads to tragic results.  For example, if your current spouse is not the parent of all of your children, if you die without a Will, your spouse will not obtain complete ownership of the homestead.  The homestead will be divided between the children and the spouse, like a partnership.  This will be a very unhappy partnership.

Also, if you die without a Will, you haven’t selected who will run your estate.  Unless there is unanimous agreement among your heirs, the court will require the administrator to post bond and seek approval for almost every action of the estate.

This massively increases the expense of the estate.  It also increases the likelihood that the heirs will fight as to who should run the estate.  When all of the heirs can’t agree for someone to act “independently and free of court”, a dependent administration is created, with significant court involvement and oversight.  With that significant involvement and oversight, the legal fees grow exponentially.

So, even if your family is happy, reasonably gets along, and is agreeable, probate will be more expensive without a Will.  If anybody doesn’t want to be cooperative, however, the cost of probating your estate will be unnecessarily high.  I can virtually guarantee someone, that the cost of preparing a good Will will be entirely saved by the decreased cost of probate.

Our goal is not to find techniques to charge our clients more money, but in the end, find what we can do that would decrease the legal expenses and maximize the recovery to the family.

Contact Dallas Estate Planning and Probate Attorney David Pyke with Pyke and Associates, P.C. to learn more about how we can help.

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, specific tax, legal or accounting advice. We can only give specific advice upon consulting directly with you and reviewing your exact situation.