Wills: General Information

You’ve probably heard the saying: “If you die without a will, the State writes a will for you.” That is called intestacy. In Texas, intestacy can be a little bit more complicated than it is in some other states. That’s because we have both community property and separate property. Community property is generally what is put together by people when they are married and it passes differently upon intestacy that does separate property. Even though a family might think that their siblings or other family members are not married, suddenly, after death, a boyfriend or girlfriend might claim that there was a common law marriage. So all of those situations must be dealt with if there is an intestacy.

You really do need a will. A will allows you to say who is going to get your probate property upon your death. It also lets you take time to coordinate your non-probate property beneficiary designations such as IRAs and life insurance. If there are going to be minors who receive property under your will, you need to consider the fact that they are not allowed to own property outright; therefore, you must make special arrangements for them such as a trust or a custodial gift under the Texas Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.

In addition, if you owe money to creditors, there must be someone in authority and appointed by a Court who can pay your bills.