If you are about to lose your inheritance because someone else is attempting to probate an unfair will, how much time do you have to contest the will? In Texas, the statute of limitations for contesting a will is complicated. Since the time limits begin when the will is admitted to probate rather than when [...]
Archive of entries posted on May 2009
Joint accounts with right of survivorship
Joint accounts are accounts, usually with a financial institution, where more than one person has rights to the account. Deciding what those rights are is a problem often faced in contested probate cases. The courts look at the documents creating the account and the words used to determine the type of account involved. Often, the [...]
Financial institution breached fiduciary duty
In a case decided in 2005, a man had an account at a financial institution. He originally opened the account as a joint account with right of survivorship with his daughter. That means that he and his daughter were joint owners and when the first one died, the account would belong to the survivor without [...]
Can beneficiaries agree not to be bound by a will?
The quick answer is yes, they can. Texas recognizes what are called “family settlement agreements.” A family settlement agreement will be enforced by a court even if the distribution of the assets under the agreement differ from the distribution of the assets under the will. A family settlement agreement is an alternative method of administration [...]
