If a person dies without having made a will in Texas, they are said to have died “intestate.” This can have a few different effects on the distribution of their estate. In general, if you die intestate in Texas, your assets will go to your spouse and children first. If you have neither of these,…
TX-LW Blogs
Do bank accounts go through probate in Texas?
If you’re like most people, you have at least one bank account. But what happens to that account when you die? The answer may surprise you: in Texas, bank accounts do not go through probate. In this blog post, we’ll discuss what this means for your loved ones and how to ensure that your bank…
What is subject to probate in Texas?
In Texas, probate is the legal process that is used to settle the estate of a deceased person. This includes distributing their assets and paying any debts or taxes that may be owed. The process can be complex, but understanding what is subject to probate in Texas can help simplify things. Generally, any property that…
The Qualified Nonpersonal Use Vehicle
What Congress provides with one provision, it often takes away with another. This can result in legal challenges whereby the court creates exceptions. The exceptions can be modified and qualified by later legislation. This creates a labyrinth that one has to navigate to determine how an item is treated for federal income tax purposes. The……
Defeating the IRS Passport Certification Notice
Congress amended the code to allow the IRS to certify passports. This added another tool the IRS can use to get those with IRS back taxes to contact the IRS and, in some cases, to pay the IRS. As with most new laws, there are a number of open questions about how and when the……
What If There Is Contradictory Language In a Will?
If you’re reading this, then you’re probably wondering what would happen if there is contradictory language in a Texas will. The answer isn’t as simple as you might think. In fact, it depends on a number of factors, including the type of contradictions and the specific wording of the will. That being said, there are…
Fighting Among Relatives, No Will, and Other Things That Can Hold Up Your Texas Probate
No one likes to think about what will happen after they die, but it’s important to have a plan in place. If you don’t, your loved ones may have to deal with a lot of complications. One of the biggest problems they might face is probate. Probate is the legal process of distributing a person’s…
Do You Have to Give Notice to a Decedent’s Creditors?
We all know that creditors can be a nuisance when someone dies owing them money. But what you may not know is that, in Texas, there are specific laws regarding how to handle a decedent’s creditors. If you’re the executor of an estate in Texas, it’s important to understand your obligations when it comes to…
The U.S. Tax Court: 1 Day Late
In many ways the U.S. Tax Court is a court and operates like other courts. But in other ways, the U.S. Tax Court is more akin to a government agency. This quasi-court status has raised a number of interesting issues about how to litigate a case in tax court and what standards apply and what……