Intestacy

I explained last week that an heir is a person who will inherit your property by virtue of a state’s intestacy laws if you die without a Will. The Texas intestacy statutes are essentially a

I received a phone call this week from a woman I’ll call Ellen, whose grandfather had succumbed to pancreatic cancer. His own children were unwilling to care for him while he was ill, so Ellen

Most people may assume that if they are married and die without a Will in Texas, their surviving spouse will inherit their entire estate. This is not always the case. The way property is characterized

The law gives you the freedom to decide how and to whom your assets are distributed when you die by making a Will. If you die without a Will, your assets will be distributed to

Each state has a vested interest in the orderly transfer of property after someone dies. It’s so important, in fact, that if you don’t have a will, the state creates one for you. Each state

When an unmarried sibling dies without a will in Texas, the distribution of his estate will depend on whether he has any surviving descendants or parents. If he is survived by descendants, the Texas Estates

While I was in Houston over the Holidays, I read an article in the Houston Chronicle that illustrates the unintended consequences of not having a will. It was about a man named Timothy Cole, whose

I read an article by Don McNay recently, which highlights the complexities, expense and unwanted results that can arise in cases of intestacy. McNay is a financial columnist and advisor and explains that he tells