Claims for money against an estate must be supported by an affidavit that the claim is just and that all legal offsets, payments, and credits known to the affiant have been allowed. If the claim is not founded on a written instrument or account, the affidavit shall also state the facts upon which the claim is founded. A photostatic copy of any exhibit or voucher necessary to prove a claim may be offered with and attached to the claim in lieu of the original.

Speak with a Harris County Probate Attorney if you need assistance.

Even if the personal representative allows a claim against the Harris County Probate Estate that is otherwise barred, the probate court is required to disapprove the claim if the court is satisfied that the claim is properly barred.

If you need help with a probate estate speak with a Harris County Probate Attorney.

This notice may be sent at any time before the administration is closed. The notice must include:

(1) the dates of issuance of letters held by the representative;

(2) the address to which claims may be presented; and

(3) an instruction of the representative’s choice that the claim be addressed in care of:

(A) the representative;

(B) the representative’s attorney; or

(C) “Representative, Estate of ” (naming the estate)

If you need assistance with a Harris County Probate Estate speak with a Harris County Probate Attorney today.

An Appellate Court recently ruled that an order concerning an Accounting is not appealable, whatever the trial court rules goes. This is for two reasons: (1) no statute declares such an order to be final and (2) the order is not part of any proceeding other than the overall independent administration of a probate estate. Get it right the first time. Speak with a Harris County Probate Attorney if you need help with a probate matter today.

(a) On the intestate death of one of the spouses, the community property estate of the deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse if:

(1) no child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse; or

(2) all surviving children and descendants of the deceased spouse are also children or descendants of the surviving spouse.

(b) On the intestate death of one of the spouses to a marriage, if a child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse and the child or descendant is not a child or descendant of the surviving spouse, one-half of the community estate is retained by the surviving spouse and the other one-half passes to the children or descendants of the deceased spouse. The descendants shall inherit only such portion of said property to which they would be entitled under Section 43 of this code. In every case, the community estate passes charged with the debts against it.

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Contact a Harris County Probate Attorney if you need help with an estate in the Harris County Probate Court.

When to Provide Notice to Secured Creditors

The Executor or Administrator of an estate shall give notice of the issuance of letters to each and every person known to the Executor or Administrator to have a claim for money against the estate of a decedent that is secured by real or personal property of the estate within two months of receiving their letters testamentary of letters of administration.

If the Executor or Administrator subsequently obtains actual knowledge of the existence of a secured creditor to whom notice was not previously given, the Executor or Administrator of the Harris County Probate Estate shall give notice to the person of the issuance of letters within a reasonable time.

Proof of Notice

A copy of each notice and a copy of the return receipt and an affidavit of the Executor or Administrator, stating that said notice was mailed as required by law, giving the name of the person to whom the notice was mailed, if not shown on the notice or receipt, shall be filed with the clerk of the Houston Probate Court.

A Harris County Probate Attorney can help you fulfill your legal obligations as the Executor or Administrator of an estate in the Harris County Probate Court.

Claims in a Harris County Probate estate are paid in the following order:

(1) Funeral expenses and expenses of last sickness, in an amount not to exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars.

(2) Allowances made to the surviving spouse and children, or to either.

(3) Expenses of administration and the expenses incurred in the preservation, safekeeping, and management of the estate.

(4) Other claims against the estate in the order of their classification.

An Independent Executor can pay claims without needing to obtain the court’s approval. However, in acting without the Harris County Probate Court’s approval an Independent Executor acts at their own peril if a mistake or oversight is made. Your Houston Probate Attorney can help you make sure claims against the estate are paid properly. Anyone other than an Independent Executor can obtain the court’s approval for the order of payment for claims.

Speak with a Houston Probate Attorney today if you need assistance with a probate matter in Harris County.

Claims against an estate in the Houston Probate Court are classified and have priority of payment, as follows:

Class 1.  Funeral expenses and expenses of last sickness for a reasonable amount to be approved by the court, not to exceed a total of Fifteen Thousand Dollars, with any excess to be classified and paid as other unsecured claims.

Class 2.  Expenses of administration and expenses incurred in the preservation, safekeeping, and management of the estate, including fees and expenses awarded under portions of the Probate Code, and unpaid expenses of administration awarded in a guardianship of the decedent.

Class 3.  Secured claims for money under Section 306(a)(1), including tax liens, so far as the same can be paid out of the proceeds of the property subject to such mortgage or other lien, and when more than one mortgage, lien, or security interest shall exist upon the same property, they shall be paid in order of their priority.

Class 4.  Claims for the principal amount of and accrued interest on delinquent child support and child support arrearages that have been confirmed and reduced to money judgment, as determined under Subchapter F, Chapter 157, Family Code, and claims for unpaid child support obligations under Section 154.015, Family Code.

Class 5.  Claims for taxes, penalties, and interest due under Title 2, Tax Code; Chapter 8, Title 132, Revised Statutes; Section 81.111, Natural Resources Code; the Municipal Sales and Use Tax Act (Chapter 321, Tax Code); Section 451.404, Transportation Code; or Subchapter I, Chapter 452, Transportation Code.

Class 6.  Claims for the cost of confinement established by the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Section 501.017, Government Code.

Class 7.  Claims for repayment of medical assistance payments made by the state under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code, to or for the benefit of the decedent.

Class 8.  All other claims.

Formally classifying claims against the estate is a vital legal obligation for the Executor of an estate. Speak with a Houston Probate Attorney today if you need assistance with a probate matter in Harris County.

The case of Nipp v. Broumley shows how in certain circumstances a joint account is included and administered in the probate estate even after the other person on the account has cashed and claimed the accounts as their own.

Mrs. Opal Broumley purchased three CDs in the 1980s. She titled the CDs as “Mrs. H.O. Broumley or Terry Broumley.” She renewed the CDs throughout the years and unfortunately passed away from inoperable cancer in 2003. Eight days before Opal Broumley died, Terry cashed the CDs and claimed the funds as his own rather than part of the probate estate.

Connie Nipp noticed the absence of the CDs on the Probate Inventory and had her Houston Probate Attorney begin a lawsuit to declare the CDs (valued at $76,000) were part of Opal Bourmley’s probate estate.

In examining the issues the Court was careful to point out the difference between a right of withdrawal and the right of ownership. Both of the parties on the title to the CD had a right to withdraw the funds; however, ownership of a joint account is based on the contribution of each party to the account unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent.

In this particular case the CDs were funded entirely by the deceased and there was not sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption that the deceased intended to retain ownership. The Court ruled the CDs were part of the probate estate and Terry Broumley must restore the funds to the estate.

This is one example of a common mistake people make that can cause problems and complications. Speak with a Harris County Probate Attorney today if you need assistance with a probate matter in Harris County.

2009-TX-0403.664

The Texas Supreme Court reviewed the case and ruled that “conflict of interest,” either actual or potential, is not one of the listed grounds for removal of an independent executor. The court explained that being in a conflict situation is not the same as misapplication, embezzlement, gross misconduct, gross mismanagement, or being incapacitated.

The court’s ruling highlights that the Harris County Probate Court has broad discretion to disqualify a person as being “unsuitable” before they are appointed as independent executor, but once a person is appointed, the only grounds for removal are expressly stated in the statute.

Speak with a Houston Probate Attorney today if you need assistance with a probate matter in Harris County.