Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
remediation of failure to probate spouse' will
My husband died in 1988. He left a will which was
never probated. His will left everything to me.
I have since made a will leaving everthing to my
children. In order to expedite the disposition of
my property at the time of my death, what action
should be taken to remedy the failure to have my
husband's will probated ?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: remediation of failure to probate spouse' will
It's too late to file your husband's will. You
didn't say if all of your husband's property is
now in your name but I assume you have had no
difficulty in getting access to his assets since
1988.
About the only thing you can do at this time is to
prepare an affidavit of heirship and file that in
the counties where you own real property. If you
own stocks or bonds on a listed exchange and they
are titled in both names then your children might
have some difficulty transferring title at your
death. They will certainly need an attorney.
An attorney can prepare an affidavit of heirship
for you now or you can wait until the real property is sold
at your death (assuming that it will be sold).