Bexar County Probate
As you go through the process of probating wills in Texas, there are many legal terms that might be unfamiliar or unclear to you. Allow Tayor & Lopez to help you traverse these questions. It is our job to make you comfortable and help you learn.
Terms include:
- Decedent: When probating a will in Texas, you will likely encounter the term “decedent” often. This is the legal term for the person who has died and whose estate is in the probate process.
- Will: This is the legal document in which a decedent has outlined how they would like assets distributed among their loved ones.
- Estate: In the state of Texas, an estate consists of all the decedent’s assets. These include, but aren’t limited to: Cash, real estate holdings (homes, land, etc.), stocks and bonds, life insurance policies, retirement accounts, vehicles, and personal belongings.
- Beneficiaries: These are the loved ones named in a will (or determined by the court if there is no will) who will receive assets from the decedent’s estate.
- Executor: When a person dies with a valid will in place, the document typically names a person to serve as executor of the estate. The chief duties of the executor will be to inventory and catalogue the decedent’s assets; pay debts of the estate; pay taxes of the estate; file lawsuits for claims owed to the estate; and distribute assets from the estate to the beneficiaries as named in the decedent’s last will and testament.
- Administrator: When the decedent has passed on without leaving a valid will and no executor has been named, Texas law requires that an administrator be named to carry out the duties of an executor.
Be sure to contact the Bexar County Probate Attorney you can trust. Call us now!