Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
I will preface this question with a short story about the current situation. My grandpa ROGER, died in 1998. In his will he left his wife, BETH, his house and all it's contents. BETH received Letters of Testamentary and was granted Executrix of his estate. She had nothing to pass along however; everyone else listed in the will got what they were supposed to.
So in 2008, BETH had my mother write her wishes on a pad of paper, after which BETH signed this "document." My mother is her daughter-in-law. In this Holographic Will, she wanted my mother SUSAN to take the house.
BETH has 3 children alive, one of them is my father, JOHN, one of them is my uncle, DAVID, and the last is my aunt, MARY.
Me an my parents currently live in Beth's house. We have been living there for the last 5 years taking care of her in her final years so she would not have to be placed in a nursing home. We paid for her funeral. We have been paying the property taxes on this house since 2005.
I understand that a holographic will must be written in the decedents own handwritting, and that an expert will have to verify BETH's signature on this document for it to be probated.
My first question is: if the courts find that BETH died intestate, will the house be sold and divided 3 ways between BETH'S three children?
Second question is: if the courts find BETH'S "Will" legal, would my mother, SUSAN, inherit the house? Even though she is not blood related to BETH?
One final thing, the estate is worth well over $50,000. Would it be simpler for everyone to just allow her estate to pass intestate and split the sale of the house 3 ways? Or is it worth the time and energy to get a lawyer to try to fight for the 100%.
2 Answers from Attorneys
IMHO..get a probate lawyer in the county she died in..but holographics are usuallyupheld as valid and it goes to your mother..intestate goes to all children alive or dead..so if 3..right but if others are dead and had children then to all ...but heirs of deceased divide what deceased..eg 1/4th would get...and yes..regardless if valid or not...best to agree and avoid court...but one would still need a lawyer to be confident of what is being finalized
Either way, get a lawyer. Don't do this yourself. I spend way too much of my day fixing problems created by people trying to do stuff like this. The estate is >$50,000, so it would behoove you to make sure that it is done properly.
I don't know that the holographic will is going to pass muster, as it was not in her handwriting, and the only witnesses to the will were not disinterested. To answer your question, if the will is legal, Beth can give her property to whomever she chooses, whether or not they're blood related.
As for what to do, first, ask the people who would inherit under intestacy (Beth's children, and the children of any of Beth's deceased children) if they want to follow Beth's wishes. You may be able to accomplish her wishes with less expensive procedures, depending on whether or not the family wants to fight over her possessions. If you all can agree on what everyone is going to get out of this, then it can usually be done relatively cheaply.
Dave
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