Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
unexecuted prior wills
My aunt died and left a will making my mother & her half sister equal parts, but the half sister is the executer.They are selling the deceased aunt's house which should split half & half for each. My uncle died 4 years before and his will was never probated or executed or witnessed. In his will he left part of his estate to his sons by his first marriage. Is his will binding? Do we have to locate his sons and give them a part? If the half sister is named the executer, does she have final say and can she make decisions without my mother agreeing?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: unexecuted prior wills
The will should still be binding, but it must be entered into probate to make it enforceable. Your aunt could only give away what she owned, so the sons should be notified.
The executor/executrix can do what he or she sees fit in administering the estate. However, she has a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the will and shouldn't do anything that diminishes the value of the estate.
Re: unexecuted prior wills
There's a possible issue in that the statute of limitations may have lapsed on the uncle's will, though you may still have a title problem on the house if you don't do something with it. Probably the safest thing to do would be to locate the heirs of the uncle's will and give them a share. This would reduce the possibility of such heirs suing you guys in the future. The executor can settle the estate as she she's fit (such is the benefit of the independent adminsitration laws in Texas) but she owes a duty to all heirs, which may include the heirs of the prior will. IOW, she can get sued if she tries to give away their property.
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