Picture a married couple who buys a home together, builds equity over the years, and then splits up. When the divorce starts, the house is the most valuable thing on the table, so everyone assumes the fight will be about how to divide the equity. Then someone notices a third name on the deed. A […]
The post When a Third Party on Deed Derails Your Texas Divorce: What Happens When the Marital Home Has a Co-Owner appeared first on Houston Probate Attorneys.
Most people sign a durable power of attorney with incapacity in mind. They want someone they trust to manage their affairs if they no longer can. Few stop to think that the same document, once signed and recorded, can also decide how and where a plaintiff serves them with a lawsuit. In Texas, a statutory […]
The post When Your Agent Can’t Refuse: Durable Power of Attorney and Service of Process in Texas appeared first on San Antonio Probate Attorneys.
A disinheritance clause in a witnessed and notarized Texas will carries real weight. So when someone shows up in probate court claiming to be a biological child born outside of marriage and says the will was forged, the question is not just whether they can file the contest. It is whether they have any credible […]
The post When the Will Speaks for the Decedent: Contesting an Express Disinheritance Clause in Texas appeared first on Austin Probate Attorneys.
Mineral interests pass through Texas probate estates all the time, usually quietly and without a fight. But when the decedent picked up those minerals during marriage through a trade with a family member instead of a cash purchase, whether they were community or separate property stops being routine. The stakes are real. A community property […]
The post Separate Property Mineral Interest in Texas: When a Mineral Swap Defeats a Community Property Claim appeared first on Houston Probate Attorneys.
Disputes over real property in a Texas probate estate can move fast. An heir or interested party may rush to court for a temporary injunction to stop another claimant from damaging, encumbering, or demolishing property that may belong to the estate. The probate court grants the injunction. Relief secured. Or so it seems. Here is […]
The post When a Temporary Injunction Backfires: How Rule 683 Can Unravel Probate Court Orders Protecting Estate Property appeared first on El Paso Probate Attorneys.
When a Texas homeowner dies and the mortgage is still outstanding, the debt does not die with the borrower. The lender’s right to foreclose does not die either. What changes is who owns the house. And under Texas law, ownership shifts the instant the homeowner takes her last breath — title passes by operation of […]
The post Mortgage Foreclosure After Death: What Texas Heirs Need to Know appeared first on San Antonio Probate Attorneys.
A serious injury, a lawsuit, a summary judgment in your favor — and then the plaintiff passes away while the case is still grinding along. The estate steps in expecting to collect on what looks like a courtroom victory. Then the defendant’s insurer files its own lawsuit and says the judgment was wiped off the […]
The post Interlocutory Judgments in Texas Probate: When a Dismissal Wipes Out Your Court Order appeared first on Austin Probate Attorneys.
When someone dies with a mortgage, the lender usually has a clear path to foreclosure — the note, the deed of trust, proof of default. Simple enough. But when the borrower’s heirs inherit the property and the lender sues in federal court, procedural requirements can sink an otherwise airtight case. A bank can have the […]
The post When Technical Requirements Derail Foreclosure: Federal Jurisdiction and Statutory Probate Liens appeared first on Houston Probate Attorneys.
When a loved one passes away with outstanding debts, someone has to sort through the claims against the estate. Creditors have to follow specific steps to get paid, and the deadlines are strict. Miss a filing window by even one day, and a claim that might otherwise be completely valid can be permanently barred. What […]
The post Miss the 90-Day Deadline to Sue on a Rejected Estate Claim? Your Secured Claim May Be Gone for Good appeared first on El Paso Probate Attorneys.