Understanding will contest in Texas
If you believe you’ve been unfairly excluded from a will or suspect that a will has been improperly executed in Texas, you may need to consider contesting it. Understanding how to contest a will in Texas is crucial to protecting your rightful inheritance. This guide will walk you through the process, including payment options for legal representation and important factors to consider before taking action. When you are forced to contest a will in Texas because someone is trying to keep you from your rightful inheritance, you must retain an inheritance attorney. How you pay that lawyer may determine whether you can or can’t contest the will.
Other Inheritance Issues
These same considerations apply if you are not contesting a will but are just trying to obtain your inheritance. Other inheritance disputes that don’t involve a will contest, like heirship proceedings, obtaining your inheritance from others, and DNA issues, can also be handled on a contingency basis.
Payment Options for Will Contest Attorneys
Hourly Fee Structure
When contesting a will in Texas, you normally pay the attorney an hourly fee. You pay month in and month out as the inheritance lawyer works on your case.
You also pay the expenses as they are incurred by the attorney. This is the preferred method of payment for the lawyer. He works, he gets paid. Expenses are repaid when they are incurred. This works well for the client as long as the client has the resources to fund the lawsuit.
Some attorneys won’t agree to contingency fees when contesting a will in Texas. They will only handle a will contest on an hourly basis. Will contest can get expensive quickly. Will contest may last for several years. In addition to the fees, the expenses can become a burden.
Contingency Fee arrangements
Many people do not have the resources to fund an expensive case contesting a will. If their choice is contesting a will on an hourly pay basis or not, they are often left unable to contest the will.
While many attorneys won’t agree to contingency fees when contesting a will in Texas, we handle a select few will contest on a contingency basis. We won’t handle every case using contingency fees when contesting a will, but we will handle some. Small estates don’t lend themselves to contingency fees when contesting a will, large estates do. Small and large are relative terms, but generally, if the part you win is less than $500,000, it is a small estate.
Time Limits for Will Contests
Will or estate contests are litigation cases; just like all litigation cases, the statute of limitations comes into play. No matter if your claim is meritious, you will miss out on any recovery if you wait too long. Don’t let time slip away and risk losing what’s rightfully yours. If you, or you and those joining with you, are facing a Texas inheritance dispute with a potential recovery of $500,000 or more, contact our experienced team today. We offer free initial consultations and may be able to work on a contingency fee basis. Click the ‘Contact Us’ button now to protect your inheritance and get the legal support you deserve.
The Right Client
We won’t agree to contingency fees when contesting a will or handling an heirship problem unless our client has been or will be deprived of what is rightfully theirs by someone trying to gain an unfair advantage. If we agree to contingency fees when contesting a will, we advance costs and expenses as the case progresses. While you will have to repay these costs and expenses if you win, you are not out any money while the case progresses. Because of the risk to the attorney, we are selective in the cases that we handle on a contingency. Attorney’s fees are paid before expenses are deducted from the recovery.