Monday, April 22, 2019

An Introduction to Texas Estate Law in the Absence of a Valid Will


Shaun Hayes is a Fort Worth, Texas resident and wealth manager at McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management in Dallas, Texas. He previously spent time as a senior financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in Fort Worth. Over the course of his career, Shaun Hayes has gained experience in various areas of wealth management and financial advising, including retirement and estate planning.

The state of Texas has a number of laws designed to address the distribution of property that has not been named in the property owner’s estate plan, or for cases that involve no valid will at all. For example, community property is transferred entirely to a spouse if the will does not outline distribution preferences, regardless of how many children the couple may have. On the other hand, a surviving spouse will need to split community property with any children from a previous marriage in the absence of an estate plan.

Separate property (property owned by just one spouse) is treated differently for individuals lacking a valid will. Children receive two thirds of separate property, while spouses claim one third. It should be noted that a person who divorces a spouse and then dies without altering their estate plan will leave no property or assets to their former spouse. To maintain the same standards of a will following a divorce, property owners will need to redraft their estate plan.

With these and other structures in mind, individuals are advised to draft a valid will with the help of a legal professional experienced in matters of estate planning. With a valid will in place, the state’s inheritance laws will only apply to property and assets that have not been named in the estate plan.

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