Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas

My father is on his deathbed in texas and is refusing to see any of his children,thats just how my father is, however he also doesnt have a will , He owns his home and a newish car, Out of the 4 siblings I am the only one who can afford to go to texas and get things taken care of, the other 3 are in NY and iether have no jobs or no means to handle anything. I am in florida and even though I dont get along with my siblings i feel we should equitably distribute everything, sell the house the car, and we can all take what we want of his personal effects,they can have anything they want, i only want 1 thing thats sentimental from my childhood, a set of whats called the great books the 100 greatest books every written, My aprents got them as a wedding gift 40 years go and I learned how to read on them, And the one sister who has never read a book in her life has staked a claim on them, Isnt it nice we are already fighting over my dads stuff and he hasnt veen passed yet? I hate to sound so crass about his impending death but as a cancer survirvor I have also learned to be a reaslist, Anyway they are fighting me every step of the way and claim i am being greedy by wanting to get a realter to handle the sale of the house, i also want to pack his entire house up and his car and transfer them to florida where i live, I cant afford to take weeks off work to handle this, I feel that everything should be put into storage until all 4 of us can get together and go through everything, I just dont feel this is an unreasonable request, And I will be paying for everything out of my own pocket considering i am the only one out of 4 who works and has my own home, 2 of he others are on welfare and one is barely making ends meet, Since my dad has not prepared any of us for what will happen i have no idea what to do or who to turn to, I cant afford a lawyer, but i also dont want strangers going through my dads stuff, ,,i should also mention my father is divorced from our mother who passsed away 12 years ago, said siblings had a yard sale the day my mother passed away and sold everything she owened because "they no longer had room for it" is there any place i can get affordable advice on how to handle this situation?


Asked on 11/03/12, 5:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Fran Brochstein Attorney & Mediator

If your dad dies in Texas without a will, you will need a Texas attorney in order to handle the estate.

I highly recommend Mr. W. Kevin Alter at 713-526-2333. His office is at 2020 Southwest Freeway, Suite 225, Houston, TX 77098. I have personally used him & I recommend him to many friends and other attorneys. His prices are extremely reasonable. He is quick and efficient. ( receive no money for this referral - I just like Kevin and everyone that I send to him has been very happy with his services.

Without a will in the State of Texas, the probate will be a paperwork nightmare. You cannot do anything without a Judge's permission.

The books and the garage sale are the least of your problems! The legal fees that you are going to incur because of your father not having a will are going to be higher because of all the time that the attorney is going to have to spend -- but, remember, your Dad could have avoided all of this and made the decision not to do so.

I'm sorry for the loss of your father and mother.

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Answered on 11/12/12, 3:46 pm


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