Short answer: not exactly, but close enough that it barely matters. No single legal statute says “you must hire an attorney to probate a will in Texas.” What actually creates the requirement is Texas’s rule against the unauthorized practice of
No. Not every will has to go through a full, formal probate process. In Texas, many wills qualify for a simpler, faster court process called muniment of title, and some estates can skip formal administration altogether if there’s no debt and
Most accounts with a named beneficiary do not go through probate in Texas. The funds transfer directly to the person named on the account—no court, no waiting, no probate filing required. That one fact can save a grieving family weeks
Yes, you can avoid probate in Texas. Plenty of Katy families do it every year. The main tools are living trusts, beneficiary designations on financial accounts, joint ownership with rights of survivorship, transfer-on-death deeds for real estate, and payable-on-death accounts. Used
Client Story – Hal and Nelly Pauls’ Problem A few weeks ago, I got a call, and later a visit to my office in Katy, Texas, from Mr. and Mrs. Pauls from Humble, Texas. Mr. Pauls parents had passed away
Most people who move to Katy or the surrounding Houston suburbs are here for a reason: good schools, space to grow, a community that feels like it’s going somewhere. They’re building something. A house in Cinco Ranch. A business in
In this series, we have discussed adverse possession under Texas law and the 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and 15-year statutes of limitations. This final post addresses the longest and least commonly used statute—the 25-year adverse possession statute. While rarely applied, the
In prior posts, we discussed adverse possession under Texas law and the 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year statutes of limitations. This post addresses a very specific and increasingly important statute—the 15-year cotenant heir adverse possession statute found in Texas Civil Practice
In previous posts, we discussed what adverse possession is under Texas law, as well as the 3-year and 5-year statutes of limitations. This post focuses on the most commonly applied adverse possession statute in Texas—the 10-year statute of limitations. As
This post continues our series on adverse possession in Texas, focusing on the 5-year statute of limitations. Under Texas law, a property owner must take legal action to remove an adverse possessor before the statute expires. If the owner fails