How to Navigate the Probate Process in Texas

Probate is never an easy process, but an estate planning attorney in San Marcos can help. If you’re setting up your estate and want to protect your loved ones, an attorney can help you keep as much of your estate out of probate as possible. And if you are in the midst of probate now, getting an attorney can help everything go more smoothly.

How to Navigate the Probate Process in Texas

Getting Started

Everything begins when someone passes away. If they left a will, it should name an executor, who is the person tasked with managing the estate. The executor will have to bring the will to the probate court and formally request to open proceedings. If there is no will, or if there’s an executor but the executor is unable or unwilling to do the job, then any interested person is allowed to petition the probate court to begin proceedings.

If there’s no will, the process will likely take more time, though that’s not guaranteed. If a will is poorly written, doesn’t cover all the estate, or if there’s a question about its validity, then things can become very complicated and time-consuming, even with a will.

Validating and Appointing

If there is a will, then the court must decide whether it’s valid. Any interested party in the estate can contest the validity of the will, though there must be an actual reason to contest it.

Once the will has been validated, the named executor will request the court to appoint them officially as the executor. The court will determine whether to do so, and if it believes that person is a suitable executor, it will issue them special documents that give them the power to manage the estate.

Notification and Inventory

Once the executor has been appointed, their first job is to notify every interested party about probate. This would include all the relatives who could normally be expected to be beneficiaries and all creditors. It might also involve some business partners, depending on the details of the estate.

While waiting for them to respond and for the notification period to pass, the executor will get started on compiling an inventory of all assets and having them appraised.

Paying Taxes and Debts

Once everything has been inventoried and appraised, all taxes have to be paid and all debts must be settled. Any part of the estate that goes through probate can be used to pay off debts, but typically anything put in a trust will be safe from this process, though it may not be safe from taxes. A lot depends on the type of trust.

Distributing and Closing

Once everything has been settled in terms of debts and taxes, the remaining assets are distributed to the beneficiaries according to the terms of the will. Then the executor can ask the court to close the estate.

Talk to an Estate Planning Attorney in San Marcos

The above is just a brief outline of what to expect. For help no matter where you are in the process, contact the Artie Pennington Law Offices in Kyle, TX  today for assistance in San Marcos, Austin, and all surrounding areas.

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