do my children have rights with no will?

[goodmother]

What is the name of your state? texas
when my ex died last year he had no will.we had built a home together on 5 acres for our family. i was owed money on the land when we divorced dec. 2001. he died nov. 2002 never paying me a dime. we had joint custody of the children. his parents moved in to the house in march(after promising the children they wouldn't).the also gave his car away and his possiosins to his brother and couisin and who ever wanted them (but not the children) WE WERE NOT ALOWED TO TAKE ANYTHING BELONGING TO MY CHILDREN FROM THE HOUSE. sice there was no will, shouldnt the children get everything? who owes me the money he never paid? what can we do? i have 5 very upset children. thank you for any help.

 

[lwpat]

"i was owed money on the land when we divorced dec. 2001"

Was this a verbal agreement or do you have some documentation of the debt? Whose name is on the deed to the house? If you don't know then go to the county courthouse and check.

"TO MY CHILDREN"

Are they your children, his children or children by both of you? You state that you had joint custody but don't give us the legal relationship. Do you now have sole custody?

Have you visited the probate court to see if probate has been started? If not then this is your first step. They can give you information on the estate law in Texas but cannot offer any legal advice. Assuming that they are his children and you now have sole custody and guardianship then you may want to start probate and have yourself named as executor of his estate.

 

[goodmother]

of my five children 4 are his. we had joint custody before he died. now they are with me.(his parents want to take custody for their settlement moneyand ssi) it was stated in our divorce papers that the money was owed to me. i don't know if anything was probated. don't know how to find that out. his parents claim they are the executives of the estate.

 

[lwpat]

"stated in our divorce papers that the money was owed to me"

Then you have a claim against the estate that needs to be entered with the probate court.

"i don't know if anything was probated. don't know how to find that out"

You need to visit the probate court in your county. They can tell you if probate has been started and provide you with a copy of the file. If you cannot afford an attorney they may be able to direct you to a legal aid office. If probate has not been started they can provide you with the forms. Just because his parents claim they are the executors does not mean that they are. I doubt that anything has been done or you would have recieved notification.

Once you are named as executor kick the parents out and have the sheriff accompany you to reclaim the assets of the estate. It has been almost a year, what are you waiting for?

 

[Dandy Don]

Please mention what city in Texas that the death occurred in, and the name of the decedent and the month and year of the death, so that I can check some online records to see if anything has been done with this estate. You can also look in the yellow pages directory to find the name of the county courthouse or ask a local librarian to help you.

The correct term is "execuTOR"--and YES, YOU ARE CORRECT--the children get to divide up this estate equally--I guess those greedy parents didn't want you to know that or they would have told you. Most likely they have already taken steps to get the most valuable assets, but what they have done is illegal.

After you find out whether they have filed or if anything has been done with the estate, you need to get your own probate attorney to help you proceed with getting this estate straightened out. Good luck to you--I applaud you for standing up for your kids!

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])