The probate code provides that if you offer a will for probate in good faith and with just cause, you can recover your reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees even if you lose. In a recent will contest, the proponent offered a 2003 will for probate. The contestants contested the 2003 will and offered an older [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Procedure category.
Can you probate a will after four years?
The Texas Probate Code, §73, requires that a will be probated within four years of the death of the testator “unless it be shown by proof that the party applying for such probate was not in default in failing to present the same for probate within the four years…” So the question in all of [...]
Can you incorporate another document into your will?
Some wills make reference to documents outside the will to dispose of property. If the other document is sufficiently identified and was in existence when the will was made, such a will can be valid. Most of the time, however, references to documents outside the will cause a challenge to the will. To survive the [...]
Can a codicil revive a revoked will?
A codicil is an addition or supplement to a will. Someone may have been born or died since the original will was executed. A codicil is an easy way to make additions or deletions to a will without having to redo the entire will. However, the codicil has to be executed with the same formalities [...]
When a will is found after probate, does the two or four year limitations period apply?
In two cases where wills were offered for probate more than two years after a prior probate judgment, one court held that the second will could be offered and the other court held that it could not. In the first case, an older (1965) will was admitted to probate. More than two years later, a [...]
What is the doctrine of “Dependent Relative Revocation?”
A will can be revoked by a subsequent, valid will stating that a prior will is revoked or by the physical act of destroying it. For more information and a complete discussion on revoking wills, click here. In general, a will once revoked cannot be “unrevoked” or revived unless the will is reexecuted with the [...]
Can you contest the will of a living person?
Probating the will of a living person is sometimes referred to as “ante-mortem probate.” Such actions are not allowed in Texas. Section 72 of the Probate Code says that probate of a will or administration of an estate of a living person is void. Therefore, a Texas court does not have jurisdiction to rule on [...]
Who can request an exhumation of a body?
Apparently, an illegitimate child can’t. The Health and Safety Code §711.004 allows a district court to order an exhumation if requested by certain people including the spouse or the children. That section may not apply to illegitimate children unless money is involved. In a case decided in 2010, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a [...]
Concealing, altering or destroying a will is a state jail felony in Texas.
Texas Penal Code §32.47(d)(1) makes it a state jail felony for a person to conceal, alter or hide a will of another person. The statute says “A person commits an offense if, with intent to defraud or harm another, he destroys, removes, conceals, alters, substitutes, or otherwise impairs the verity, legibility, or availability of a [...]
When does a minor have to file a will contest?
Texas has a two year limitations period for contesting wills. If you don’t contest a will within two years, you are barred from contesting it thereafter. As I have written before, this is true even if a forged will is admitted to probate. What happens if a minor wants to contest a will when he [...]
