SandShark
So it goes
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-23
Santa Fe, TX
clubs:
 ·Verizon Online DSL
|  Question About Probate and Attorneys
When my mom passed away, she didn't have a will. She was not married and I am her only child. In Texas, there is a legal document one can file with the probate court called Small Estate Affidavit (see attached PDF). The qualifications for filing a Small Estate Affidavit are:
•30 days must have passed since the decedent's death
•The decedent can not have left a will
•Then entire assets of the estate cannot exceed $50,000
•The affidavit must show all assets and liabilities
•The affidavit must be signed by two disinterested witnesses in front of a notary
I have filed two affidavits with the county probate court and each time the affidavit has been rejected. The first time was because I failed to list all assets. The second time was because the document wasn't notarized properly, although the court would not give me the specifics of what that meant, and the court clerks are less than helpful. There are signs hanging next to their work spaces that say, "We are not attorneys. We cannot answer legal questions."
My question is this. Am I wasting my time filing this document without an attorney? I did some research once about what it would take to file a lawsuit in federal court without an attorney and most everything I read said doing so without an attorney was a difficult if not an impossible task because the courts look down on non-attorneys filing lawsuits. The reason I'm doing this without an attorney is because we're talking less than $3,000 in assets (one bank account, one credit union account and one 1992 Oldsmobile automobile). I just can't see having to pay an attorney $500-$1000 for such a small amount. One other thing is if you look at the affidavits online for the different counties, each county has a different document. Basically, they are the same, but one county has a three page affidavit, where another county has a six page affidavit, so there appears to be no standard across counties.
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McSummation
Mmmm, Zeebas Are Tastee.
Premium,MVM
join:2003-08-13
Round Rock, TX | You ought to be able to do this yourself.
I have some questions:
1) Did she reside in Harris County at the time of death?
2) Did you have witnesses that had known her for some time?
3) Was it notarized in Harris County? |
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SandShark
So it goes
Premium,MVM
join:2000-05-23
Santa Fe, TX
clubs:
·Verizon Online DSL
| Thanks! No, she resided in Galveston County. There was no PDF document for Galveston, but the two affidavits are pretty much the same. Yes, I have witnesses that have known her for 20+ years. I used the notary at my bank, which is in Galveston County, also.
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