Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
Small Estate, No Will
My father passed away recently without a will. His estate consisted of checking accounts, money mkt accounts, CD's, and brokerage accounts. Most of his accounts have a POD designation so do not have to go through probate. However, approx 85k in stocks & life insurance do not have such a designation. Since the estate is small, is there a way transfer the assets to my mother without an attorney? Would I be able to obtain a letter of testamentary without an attorney, and would this be sufficient to transfer the assets? Thanks.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Small Estate, No Will
Life insurance always has a designated beneficiary. Check the policy, the agent or the company.
Brokerage accounts nearly always have a designated beneficiary. Check with the broker or stock transfer agent.
Both avoid probate, but not inheritance taxes, if applicable.
Re: Small Estate, No Will
You don't have to have an attorney for any probate matter. However, I would strongly recommend against attempting to do this yourself. There are a few summary proceedings that may be available to you, but these depend on the amount of estate debts and assets. You mentioned about $85k in life insurance and stock. Was there no beneficiary on the life insurance policy? The reason that I ask is that there is another proceedure that we can do that is very inexpensive if the assets are less than $50k, not including the homestead.
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