Probate Attorney in McKinney, TX for Estates With Homes, Disputes, or Court Deadlines

Usually yes, because a will by itself is not authority — a court order is. Banks, title companies, and transfer agents are entitled to insist on one before releasing funds or clearing a sale. Which order you need is the real question. If the estate owes no unpaid debt other than a debt secured by a lien on real estate, or the court finds there is no other need for administration, the will can be admitted as a muniment of title under Texas Estates Code § 257.001, and § 257.102 then makes that order itself sufficient legal authority for anyone holding estate property to pay or transfer it without an administration. If the estate needs someone with ongoing authority to act, § 401.001 lets a will direct independent administration — the faster, less court-supervised path Texas is known for. Two deadlines drive the urgency. A will generally may not be admitted to probate after the fourth anniversary of death unless the applicant proves they were not in default in failing to offer it sooner (§ 256.003(a)), and letters testamentary may not issue at all on a will admitted after that anniversary unless the application was filed within it (§ 256.003(b)). A named executor also has to move: under § 306.002(a)(2)(B), the court may grant administration with the will annexed to someone else if the named executor fails to qualify before the 21st day after the will is probated, or fails to present the will for probate before the 31st day after death without good cause.

Yes, and this is the situation where getting the path right matters most, because a house cannot be sold or refinanced until the record shows who owns it. Without a will, ownership passes by the intestacy rules, and the usual route is a proceeding to determine heirship under Texas Estates Code Chapter 202. The application is sworn and demanding on purpose: § 202.005 requires it to name the decedent's heirs and where they can be served, confirm that all children born to or adopted by the decedent are listed, and list every marriage with its date, the spouse's name, and how and when it ended. If the heirs also want the streamlined independent administration, § 401.003(a) allows all distributees to agree on it and designate an administrator — but § 401.003(b) bars the court from appointing that independent administrator until an heirship proceeding under Chapter 202 has established who all the heirs actually are. Families are often told an affidavit of heirship is a cheap substitute. Sometimes it is, eventually. Under § 203.001(a)(2) a recorded affidavit of heirship is received as prima facie evidence of the facts in it only after it has been of record for five years or more in the deed records, which is why a title company will insure a sale in year six but not the closing scheduled next month, and § 203.001(d) preserves the rights of an omitted heir or creditor regardless. If there is a buyer, a lender, or a deadline, plan for the court proceeding.

Many uncontested probate matters can be handled on a flat fee quoted after we see the will, the asset list, and the deed. Contested probate, executor defense, and complex heirship matters may be hourly or, in appropriate litigation matters, evaluated for contingency. One point families rarely know: probate fees are frequently an estate expense rather than a personal one. Under Texas Estates Code § 352.051, on satisfactory proof a personal representative is entitled to necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in preserving, safekeeping, and managing the estate, and to reasonable attorney's fees necessarily incurred in connection with the proceedings and management of the estate. If you are the executor, that ordinarily means the estate — not your own pocket — bears the cost of doing the job properly. We offer a free probate case review to tell you which path the estate needs and what it should cost before you commit to anything.