Articles Tagged with Houston Estate Attorney

Inheritance and Disbarred Attorney Leads to Messy Family Dispute

Published on: October 5, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

When Fritz Detmer passed away, he left his son, Tols Detmer, an estate worth several hundred thousand dollars. The terms of the will were that Tols was not to get his inheritance until he turned 18.

Now, Tols is 19 and he is suing his own mother, Charlinette Detmer, for hundreds of thousands of dollars he says she improperly received from the estate.

The lawsuit alleges that Charlinette was supposed to receive $60,000 from the estate, but instead the lawyer administering the estate, Peter Capece, gave her $311,000. It is alleged that Capece gave Charlinette this windfall because she knew that Capece was misappropriating money from the estate for his own benefit.

Is the Rent Due When Tenant Passes Away?

Published on: September 30, 2015 | By McCulloch & Miller, PLLC

An aging woman posed a question to The New York Times “Ask Real Estate” columnist regarding her rented apartment. The woman asked if her daughter would be responsible for the older woman’s signed lease, if she passed away while still a tenant in the apartment. Her question appeared in a recent column, “A Noisy Cafe Next Door.”

The expert’s opinion?

The woman’s estate would owe on the lease and need to make regular payments. However, New York law does provide that the tenant’s estate can attempt to find a new tenant which the landlord must accept if reasonable.