​Probate

When a person dies, issues often arise that require a lawyer’s assistance.  For example, it may be necessary to:

• clear title to the decedent’s house or other property (real or personal);

• pay debts and taxes owed by the decedent’s estate;

• collect debts owed to the decedent’s estate;

• collect, preserve, and maintain the decedents assets and funds;

• obtain the appointment of an executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate;

• obtain the appointment of a guardian for the decedent’s minor children;

• probate the decedent’s will;

• establish and fund testamentary trusts;

• terminate a living trust and make distributions therefrom;

• elect the portability of the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount;

• determine the identity of a decedent’s heirs;

• open the decedent’s safe deposit box;
  

• disclaim a gift or distribution from the decedent’s will, from a trust, or from a life insurance policy; or

• file a claim for death benefits under the decedent’s life-insurance policy.

We at the Law Office of D. Scott Curry can help you resolve these and any other issues that may arise upon the death of your loved one.  Let us put our 20 years of experience in the area of estate-planning and probate law to work for you.  Texas law provides for an assortment of different probate procedures.  We will help you select the procedure that best fits your particular situation and is most cost-effective for you.  See Choosing the Correct Probate Procedure.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is entitled to my estate if I die without a Last Will and Testament?
2. Who is entitled to my estate if I die intestate and if no spouse survives me?
3. Who is entitled to my estate if I die intestate and if a spouse survives me?
4. How do you probate a Will as a Muniment of Title?
5. How long do I have to Probate a Will?
6. How does one handle a small estate?
7. Do I have to probate a Will?