Waldron & Schneider’s Probate Litigation Section handles contested probate cases. From fiduciary issues to will contest or guardianship contest, our firm practices in probate and county courts across Houston, Galveston, Fort Bend County, Montgomery County, and across the state. Our lawyers have experience in the following areas. Guardianship Litigation Will Contests …
Trusted and Compassionate Probate Guidance. Since most people have never gone through the probate process, it is highly recommended that you consult an experienced probate lawyer before moving forward. At Waldron Law Offices, Ltd., we are here to support you during each stage of the probate process, and often for a flat fee.
The bottom line is you get to decide who gets your property if you have a will. If you die without a will, the State of Texas decides who gets your property. Further, the cost is significantly more expensive to probate your estate without a will than if you have a will, and is also more time consuming and complicated.
Do an internet search using the names, contact details or exact wording of the letter/email to check for any references to a scam – many scams can be identified this way. If you think it’s a scam, don't respond — scammers will use a personal …
A scammer may contact you out of the blue to tell you that you can claim a large inheritance from a distant relative or wealthy benefactor. You may be contacted by letter, phone call, text message, email or social networking message.
You are contacted out of the blue by a scammer posing as a lawyer or banker and offering you a large inheritance from a distant relative or wealthy individual. They may even ask you to pose as the next of kin to an unclaimed inheritance.
Never send money or give credit card, online account details or copies of personal documents to anyone you don’t know or trust.
If you think you have provided your account details, passport, or other personal identification details to a scammer, contact your bank, financial institution, or other relevant agencies immediately.
Nigerian scams involve someone overseas offering you a share in a large sum of money or a payment on the condition you help them to transfer money out of their country. While these scams originated in Nigeria, they now come from all over the world.
A common example of a probate case is where someone is the only owner of a piece of property at the time of their death. The family wishes to sell the property to pay for the funeral expenses of their loved one. But, the family cannot sell the property if their name is not on the deed as an owner of the property.
Your loved one has passed away. They named you as the beneficiary of their estate in their will. Or maybe they didn't have a will but you are the only living relative. You try to go to the bank to access their bank account. You even show the bank the will and explain you are the only living relative.
Probate is the process of managing the affairs of a decedent’s estate. Through this process, a Personal Representative will be appointed to handle the decedent’s assets and debts. Probate of a decedent’s estate may require administration, litigation or both.
There are many technical issues to deal with in probate administration that may be difficult to navigate without an attorney. For example, would it be better to file an informal or a formal probate? Who can serve as personal representative of the estate? What do I do if there are not enough assets in the estate to pay all of the creditor’s claims?
Hiring a probate lawyer is really a matter of choice that depends on one’s comfort level in dealing with the court system. It also depends on the confidence of the proposed personal representative in their ability to understand and comply with all probate procedures.
This question is perhaps easier to answer by stating what assets do go through probate. Any asset that is solely owned in the decedent’s name at the time of his or her death will need to be probated. Other assets that may go through probate are those that do not name or improperly name designated beneficiaries.
Our office charges a hourly rate for probate cases. There are many different issues and variables that may arise in each probate case. Thus, it is often difficult to determine how much time we will need to invest in a case from start to finish.