Probate sounds like a nasty thing that your family is trapped into when someone dies. Probate can be difficult and expensive, even when there is no dispute, in some countries and some states. Luckily, Texas has very modern, streamlined probate rules. But why do we have those rules at all?
Probate is the process of orderly transferring a deceased person’s assets. If the person has a Will, the Will is “probated” and the person named in the Will, the executor, is granted Letters Testamentary. This document is the evidence that the executor gives to title companies, banks, and others to gain control of the assets.
It is a similar process when there is no Will, but we must first prove who the heirs are and they can either agree on the person to run the estate (called an administrator instead of an executor) or the court appoints somebody. Either with or without a Will, the normal process is for the court to name a person to run the estate who has the authority to sell the assets.
Is this just government interference in our lives or a scheme invented by attorneys to make money? I understand people who feel that way, but it really isn’t true. By having an orderly system with a clear person appointed to sell the assets, people who want to buy assets, such as the family homestead, will pay fair price because they know they are getting good title to the property. Without an organized probate process, it would be a mad scramble for the property by competing claimants, and purchasers would be buying property on something akin to a black market. In other words, they would pay less. The purpose of probate then, by creating an orderly market, is to maintain the value of the decedent’s assets.
At Pyke & Associates, we have probated hundreds of estates in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Metroplex, appeared in all of the courts in the Metroplex, and are so accustomed to the procedures and quirks in each court that we do our services, when at all possible, on a fixed fee basis.
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.
