Most Texans treat their homestead as untouchable. The Texas Constitution protects a home from creditors with no dollar limit, so in theory even a $20 million mansion can be shielded entirely from forced sale. But that protection has a federal ceiling, and most debtors never learn about it until a creditor brings it up in […]
A contractor finishes building a home. The owner dies before paying the final draw. The contractor files a claim against the probate estate, the estate representative rejects it, and the contractor heads to court only to find the courthouse door locked. Not because the claim lacked merit, but because the suit was filed in the […]
When a family member dies and leaves behind real property, heirs often assume they receive the property free and clear. The reality is more complicated. If the deceased person owed debts secured by that property—like a mortgage—those debts don’t simply disappear. They attach to the property itself and follow it to whoever inherits it. For […]
Family violence tears through households without regard to legal formalities. A grandmother faces exploitation by her own daughter. The granddaughter seeks to protect her. But there’s a complication: the daughter gave up the granddaughter for adoption decades ago, and her parental rights were terminated. Does that termination destroy the granddaughter’s legal standing to seek a […]
Probate disputes can tear families apart. Siblings who grew up together suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of a courtroom. They fight over their parents’ estates for years. The emotional and financial toll can spiral out of control. Many families turn to mediation to resolve probate disputes. They hammer out settlement agreements intending to resolve […]
Family partnerships often face transition challenges when a partner dies. The surviving partners may reach settlement agreements to resolve partnership interests, but what happens when one party later tries to back out based on claims about the partnership’s condition? Can Texas courts still enforce these agreements? The Eleventh Court of Appeals recently considered the enforceability […]
The sudden loss of a loved one is one of life’s most painful experiences. When that loss is compounded by legal complexities around the decedent’s marital status and estate, the situation becomes even more stressful for the grieving family. This is the difficult reality at the heart of the Texas probate case In re Williams, […]
When a probate court makes decisions during the administration of an estate, parties who disagree with those decisions may want to appeal right away. If the probate court makes a decision that negatively impacts the party’s rights, time may be of the essence to fix it. From an economic or practical perspective, a delayed fix […]
Courts possess significant powers to impose sanctions on attorneys who improperly abuse legal processes. Various procedural rules and statutes grant courts discretion to levy monetary sanctions when attorneys engage in frivolous litigation tactics or misconduct. As the Brenners v. Green, No. 06-20-00044-CV (Tex. App. – Texarkana [6th Dist.] 2020) case exemplifies, determining appropriate sanctions requires […]
If someone dies in Texas and they left a handwritten written document that gives away their property on death, can that document be a valid will? What if the person did not sign the will? The answer is often, “yes,” as Texas law allows for handwritten wills. The courts will often admit the wills even […]