Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
brother died without a will
My brother died without a will and he has a daughter, son and step brother. My mom and dad are still alive and I am his only sister. At this time my grandmother has temporary custody of my nephew. We will be going to court on Monday, April 13th in County Court because she wants to have control of my brothers estate.
I was told that in the state of Texas when someone dies without a will any assets are divided 50% to parents any sisters living, then the other 50% is goes to the surviving children. Is this correct? If so how can we get this processed through the court? Since I am not a party to the suit and the hearing is this Monday can I request the court to reset the case so that I can hire an attorney since I am the sister. Ultimately, I have been the main caregiver for my brother and his son until he died and I would like custody of my nephew since he is use to living with me. This would be in the best interest of my nephew especially since he is under the care of the elderly Great Aunts who really don't have the patience nor the best of health to care for him. Please advise?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: brother died without a will
You REALLY need a lawyer and you should have done that 2-3 weeks ago. I guess you realize that now. If you can't find someone now, go to court and when the case is called, ask the judge if you can address the court. Tell him/her that you would like time to hire an attorney to help you in this matter and that you don't really know what is going on here, who is asking for what and why ther're doing it in this court. Don't try to tell the judge about all the bad history. Just ask the judge to please give you some time. Most often they will, particularly if this is the first hearing. They will usually give you at least 30 days, maybe 3 weeks. Big city courts may give you 90-180 days.
Find an attorney. Good Luck.
Re: brother died without a will
Sorry for your loss. It sounds like there should be at least two cases going on here. The custody of your nephew (what about the daughter??) and the estate of your late brother.
If your grandmother already has formal temporary custody (awarded by a Court) it sounds like this was going on for awhile. If you want custody of you nephew you need to get a good family law attorney NOW. Whoever gets formal custody of the child will probably control the child's estate (including his inheritance).
In the normal course of events, none of his estate will go to you or your parents. He has children who will inherit. If you do not think your grandmother should control the distribution of his estate you need a good probate attorney NOW. Sounds like the Monday hearing is on the estate. Either way, Mr. Grissom is correct about asking for time to get an attorney. Good luck.
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