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contesting will

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vickig

Guest
What is the name of your state? I live in Texas.
I need to know Texas law and the legal wording to disinherit a child. My ex husband died in Feb., we had one daughter and he had no other children. He stated in his will that he had no children. He left his estate to a friend. His estate is about $160,000. I did retain an attorney, and we did stop probate, but now my attorney says all we can do is prove forgery, incompatance, or undue influence. I can not prove any of those, the will was signed Nov. 2000. Is there any way that the wording I have no children can be used to invalidate the will as we have proof that she is his only child and relative. The fact that he state I have no children is an untruth, and he left everything to the executrix. It looks like we will not win at this point, should we lose, can my daughter sue the estate for back child support even though she is now 39? He did not pay for 10 years, as I could not locate him.
 


ALawyer

Senior Member
A parent has no legal obligation to leave anything to a child, and can disinherit the child. If there is a valid will, he has done so.

Here the fact that he stated he did not have a child reflects "mistake" and that sometimes is a basis to throw out a will. But you have a lawyer and the lawyer knows Texas law and practice FAR better than I might as I am not a Texas lawyer.

I do know that very often these matters are compromised -- if the will is thrown out then the friend gets nothing and your daughter everything. So sometimes the friend will agree to pay something to the contestant both to save legal fees and protect herself against the possibility of potential loss.

That is a matter your lawyer is aware of, and "how much" typically depends on both the strength of the case and the rationality of the parties, and the ablity of one side to wear down the other. For example, if your daughter is ready and willing to pay $15,000 in legal bills, and by doing so would cause the other side to spend $50,000 in legal bills, the other side might just buy her off for something between $10,000 and $50,000 instead of spending that much on its own legal fees. On the other hand, if the other side suspects she can't afford to put up the money for lawyer fees and take her chances, or she won't, the executrix will say to get any money from me, you'll have ot get it in court.

If you think your daughter's lawyer is wrong, then get a second opinion in Texas.

I have not a clue about back child support, but my sense is the statute of limitations may have run out years ago.
 
Y

yoyoma

Guest
I would say the daughter has a Valid claim to sue the estate for the 10 years of back child support....


As long as you have the court order, it remains in effect...and he does have assets..and he does owe the money.

That money was suposed to go to her anyway

But that is all she is entitled to .


I hope she or you kept the paperwork
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Is the attorney you retained a PROBATE attorney or just a general attorney? It seems like a probate attorney should be able to advise you about whether your child has a valid claim to this estate.

ANY NATURAL CHILDREN of the decedent have a valid claim to a share of the estate and if this attorney can not advise you on what this child's share is and how to get it, then you need to get a second opinion from another probate attorney.

Yes, back child support is also a valid claim against an estate. In whatever county you got the original child support order, talk to the child support officials in that county to get all the documentation you need about how much is owed, along with interest, and get an official letter from them about how much is owed that you can submit to the probate court. That claim can be filed without waiting to see, as you say, "should we lose".

DANDY DON ([email protected])
 

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