Probate is the legal process through which a court reviews a decedent’s will or estate planning documents and accepts the documents as valid and enforceable. In Texas, there are certain assets that must go through probate. There are, however, ways around probate, which many clients are interested in, given the cost and time that probate requires. On today’s blog, we review which assets must go through probate in Texas, but as always, it is best to speak with a Houston estate planning attorney if you have more detailed questions about the process.
Put simply, your estate goes through probate in Texas. The “estate” includes: financial accounts in your name, real estate, notes (i.e. money that someone owes you), personal property, LLC interest (companies you own or operate), lawsuits (where you might have a chance of a recovery), and inheritance. Assets in your estate will be subject to probate, no matter how bi or small those assets are.
Many individuals are interested in avoiding probate, and there are several strategies we recommend with this goal in mind. You can, for example, organize your assets in a way that excludes them from probate. One such method of organization is forming a trust – the money in the trust will be protected from probate. You could also open a transfer-on-death account. This is essentially a bank account that tells the bank to automatically transfer money to a beneficiary upon your death, therefore avoiding the probate courts.