Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas

My mother passed away the end of June and one of her assets was a regular brokerage account with Smith Barney consisting of Mutual Funds and CD's. It has ended up having to go through probate which is still ongoing. Is there a set legal date in which the value of the account is taken for distribution purposes, such as the value on the day of death or perhaps the date Smith Barney obtains a copy of the death certificate. The reason I ask is because we feel the account CPA and the attorney have been dragging their feet and in the meantime the account has lost about 30K in value.

Also, my sister is the executor of the estate. Once the account is released, will it be the executor or some probate attorney who is responsible for distributing the proceeds according to the will? Am I correct in thinking that the only responsibility of the account CPA is to close the account out and release the proceeds over to the executor for distribution?

Thanks for your response


Asked on 10/02/11, 8:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bob Leonard Bob Leonard Law Group, PLLC

I hope that I can clear up several things that concern you. Only the executor can take action. The attorney and CPA can only advise the executor; they cannot do anything with the estate itself.

It has only been three or four months since your mothers death. Estates typically take longer than that since it is advisable to wait to make sure that all debts are paid and that there are no claims on the estate. If a claim is made, that could delay things.

The assets in the estate must be managed according to the Will. The executor may or may not have the power and may or may not have the responsibility to sell the assets.

Section 92 of the Texas Probate Code gives a party the right to compel settlement of the estate. Section 149A gives an interested person the right to demand an accounting of the estate after 15 months.

If we can help you with this, please call us for an appointment at (817) 336-8500. Good luck.

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Answered on 10/03/11, 2:26 pm


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