Intestate means a person dies without a valid will.
When a person dies intestate, the determination of who gets his property is made by a judge with reference to the state’s descent and distribution laws.
These laws may be exactly what the decedent wanted but they may not be.
A person who has a will does not die intestate, rather, he dies testate. The will, not the state, determines who gets his property.
There are new cases all the time that clarify or change the law on inheritance disputes. Keep up-to-date by subscribing to our blog.
Property left to a person for their life creates a life estate. The person is a life tenant. When the life tenant dies, the property (or remainder) goes to another, called the remainderman.
A good faith contest between two wills does not amount to a theft and would not be prosecuted as one. But the legislature has expressed its intent in clear terms: when an actor appropriates property knowing its owner cannot give effective consent to the transfer, the...
Escheat Escheat means the right of the state to take ownership of property for which there is no owner. Inheritance In the inheritance context, it means that the state owns your property after you die if you don't have a will and no heirs can be found. Prevention...
An Administrator (or Administratrix) is the person appointed by the court to handle the estate of someone who died without a will, with a will but no nominated executor, or the executor named in the will has died, has been removed from the case or does not desire to...
The person appointed to administer the estate of a person who has died leaving a will which nominates that person. Dictionary.Law.Com. An executor is a fiduciary. By Robert Ray a Texas inheritance attorney. The foregoing information is general in nature and does not...
A person or entity who holds the assets (corpus) of a trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries and manages the trust and its assets under the terms of the trust stated in the declaration of trust which created it. Dictionary.Law.Com. A trustee is a fiduciary. By...
Texas Common-law Marriage Texas recognizes common-law marriages or what Texas calls "Informal Marriages." There are two different ways you can have an informal marriage: Agreeing to be married; living together in Texas after the agreement; and, representing to others...
