Determination of Heirship

What is the Determination of Heirship?

The basic question: How to Determine Heirship? When a person passes away intestate (without a Last Will and Testament), their estate passes to their legal heirs by the laws of intestacy; it is subject to the decedent’s obligations and unpaid child support orders as of the date of the decedent’s death. You can utilize a determination of heirship, with or without a request for an estate administration, if:

In the absence of any evidence identifying the heirs or the property they are entitled to, other parties could be reluctant to believe the heirs.

The Process:

• • The judge must first verify who the decedent’s heirs are. In order to achieve this, the law appoints an Attorney Ad Litem who looks into the identity of the deceased person’s family members at the time of their passing.
  • Second, a hearing will take place to advance the case and start the probate procedure when the Attorney Ad Litem has completed their investigation into the decedent’s heirs and filed their report with the court.
  • Third, the judge will choose an administrator when the heirs are identified. The applicant’s lawyer would have likely contacted the decedent’s known heirs prior to a court hearing and asked for their consent to establish an independent estate administration.

If you are looking for a probate attorney to handle your determination of heirship case, Nathan Law, PLLC is here to assist you! Call 214-915-8226 to schedule your initial consultation with our Dallas probate attorney.

Application for Determination of Heirship

Texas residents who pass away without a will should have their estates probated. This process allows for the legal transfer of probate assets from a decedent to the heirs of a decedent. But what if you need help to identify the heirs at law and/or how much property each heir is entitled to receive? We are here to assist you at every step in an application for determination of heirship.

Identification

After filing the application, the court will identify the heirs of the decedent based on the following:

• • The property status of the estate (whether it is separate or community property);
  • The marital status of the deceased; and
  • Whether marital children are involved or not.

The Hearing

After identifying the heirs and providing notice of the application, a hearing takes place. The purpose of the hearing is for the court to determine how the property in the decedent’s estate will be divided. The law requires that at least two disinterested witnesses attend the hearing. A disinterested witness is someone who has no financial interest in the decedent’s estate.

Probate court can be daunting in situations where there is a requirement of determination of heirship. But don’t you worry!  Call 214-915-8226 and speak to our probate attorney in Dallas, Texas for your initial consultation.