Q: My mother died recently. One of my siblings is a lawyer, so my mother had him write her will, and she named him as executor. He is in full control of everything. Is there any timeframe to getting the probate done? Can we get a copy of the will? There has been no communication from my brother.
A: Before answering your question, it is important to mention that your mother might have named your brother or one or more other persons as joint tenants with rights of survivorship on her bank and brokerage accounts or as the payable-on-death beneficiaries on one or more of her life insurance policies, annuities, bank or brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts.
She might also have filed one or more transfer-on-death deeds, which give her house or other real estate directly to one or more beneficiaries. It’s possible as well that she had a revocable trust, which transferred some of her property at her death quickly and without the need for anyone to be informed.
Therefore, while it might be interesting to read your mother’s will, it may very well be the case that little or no property passed under that document.
Rather than focusing only on her will, you may need to know what she owned and who inherited it. But if your brother or other beneficiaries refuse to share information, your main option may be to hire an attorney to file or threaten to file a lawsuit.
You would need to decide whether it’s worth spending significant legal fees to learn what happened to your mother’s property and possibly recover assets you believe should have gone to you.
As to your questions, in Texas, a will generally must be probated within four years of death. Therefore, your brother does not have to act immediately. But if he named himself as a beneficiary under the will, and property does, in fact, pass under the will, you would expect that he would want to start the probate as soon as possible.
Once your brother files the will for probate, Texas law requires him to keep beneficiaries informed. Within 60 days of the date the will is probated, he must send each beneficiary a notice that includes either a copy of the will and the court order admitting it to probate, or a written summary of what the person is receiving under the will.
If the probate has started, and you haven’t received notice, then you are either not a beneficiary, your brother is not performing his duties, or the probate was filed less than 60 days ago. Keep in mind, you can go to the county clerk’s office in the county where your mother lived and request a copy of the will. Probate records are generally available for anyone to see.
Within 90 days of being appointed executor, your brother generally must prepare an inventory of the estate’s assets. The inventory must either be filed with the court or provided to the beneficiaries named in the will, unless the court grants an extension.
This column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to: stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.