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A lot of times, if there is just a home, a muniment of title is a great option. It’s kind of like probating a will. We still take it to the court but rather than setting up a full probate administration, where you have to report back to the judge, we just get the will admitted and record it in the chain of the title to the house. That shows that it’s been transferred so at that point we are done. You don’t have to appoint an executor or report an inventory back to a judge. It’s shorter, faster, and cheaper. Another toolkit in a probate attorney’s box is an affidavit of heirship. However, if there is a valid will, it doesn’t save you a lot of time or money and title companies don’t always accept them, so you run the risk of not being able to sell your property when you need to. There is a presumption that after five years, an affidavit of heirship has a little more legal backing, so if you are not looking to sell anything any time soon, it sometimes makes sense. Usually, either a muniment of title or a regular probate are better options.
If My Spouse Intended To Leave Me His Car And Home, Can I Take Possession Of Those Assets Prior To Probate Or Must I Wait?
You can take possession of your spouse’s property. Do you have a legal right to take possession of them? Probably not, but if no one is going to argue and there is no conflict in the family, there won’t be a problem. If there is fighting involved, that scenario gets really messy and a lot of times, it makes more sense for whoever the will appoints as the executor to take control of the assets because that’s what the court is going to authorize. I tell my clients if family members are absconding with assets before an executor has been appointed to call the police.
I Was Left The House But Can’t Afford To Probate The Will and Was Told If I Pay Taxes And Live There For 7 Years, It Would Be Mine. Is That True Or Not?
A house does not become yours after seven years. There is a claim for adverse possession in Texas but it takes 10 years to develop your claim before you have any rights to it. If the actual owner of the house or property, at any point in those 10 years, were to say that you can stay there, your claim is not valid anymore. It’s really risky and really hard to prove and even if you do make it for the full 10 years without anyone trying to claim their right to the house, you’d still have to hire an attorney and file a lawsuit to prove that you’ve adversely possessed the house. It’s much better to figure out how to probate the will or go through the intestate probate process to transfer title because counting on adverse possession is expensive and risky.
For more information on Getting A Will Probated In Texas, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (512) 851-1248 today.