We Will Help You Determine the Best Path Forward
After the loss of a loved one, you will have a wide range of emotions and concerns. As you are working through your grief, you may discover that your loved one did not leave a will. You now are looking at trying to work through a potentially complex and contentious situation where your loved one’s estate must go into probate in Texas.
Our San Antonio probate attorney is ready to help. Do not feel like you must go through this alone. We will stand by your side from start to finish in the probate process. Even when you are facing an unusual or unique situation regarding probate, trust that our team’s extensive experience with these types of cases will be to your benefit. We know how the law in Texas works, and we will always look to apply it to your benefit throughout the probate process.
For a review of your case, contact our probate attorneys in San Antonio. Call Amsberry Law Firm today at (210) 354-2244.
Why You Should Choose Our Probate Lawyer in San Antonio
You Can End Up in Probate for Multiple Reasons
As an estate planning attorney that serves San Antonio and the surrounding counties, Amsberry Law Firm is ready to help with all aspects of preparing to pass on your assets to beneficiaries. Through this work, we can help a family attempt to avoid having to go to probate after a loved one passes away. We use our estate planning services to give our clients the exact outcome that they want for their estate.
However, we also have clients approach us after their loved one’s estate ends up in probate. Sometimes, people do not attempt to set up a trust or a will before they die, leaving probate as the only option. At other times, an estate is set up by someone who doesn’t fully understand the process, leading to potential problems when it’s time to distribute the estate.
Our San Antonio probate attorney is ready to handle all these situations and more. Whether you want to set up your estate properly so that it meets all rules and regulations in Texas, or whether you are facing a fight in probate court, we are ready to help.
Our San Antonio Probate Lawyer Will Fight for Your Best Possible Outcome
If the decedent’s assets end up in probate court in Texas, it is possible that some of the potential heirs will contest the will. Or, if no will exists, the heirs may end up fighting in probate court over the proceeds from the estate.
When an estate ends up in a probate litigation scenario, our San Antonio probate lawyer is ready to defend your rights. Some of the services our team of attorneys can perform on your behalf include:
- Contesting a will
- Contesting a trust
- Addressing perceived wrongs in the distribution of the estate
- Addressing interference with expected claims of inheritance
- Challenging the mental capacity of the decedent at the time of creating the will.
How Do I Know If I Need a San Antonio Probate Attorney?
You certainly can try to fight through probate court on your own without the help of our team. However, when you hire us, you can be certain we will work tirelessly to help you achieve the best outcome.
A few different situations lend themselves to the hiring of our probate lawyer in San Antonio. Consider hiring our team if you are questioning what is happening with your loved one’s estate and if you cannot receive the answers you need or are expecting. If you believe others took advantage of your loved one’s mental state just prior to death to create an unfair will, our San Antonio probate lawyer is ready to help you try to set things right. Or if you are the trustee for a loved one’s estate, and you believe some of the beneficiaries may contest the job you’re doing, you may want to hire us to counteract any potential problems before they arise.
When you hire Amsberry Law Firm, you will find a team that takes the time to fully understand your case and your desires for the outcome. Unlike some other probate attorneys in San Antonio, we do not take on so many clients at the same time that we cannot give each of them our full attention.
We will give you compassionate representation, and we will be ready to answer any questions you may have. Call our San Antonio probate attorney as soon as possible at (210) 354-2244 for a consultation.
Our San Antonio Probate Attorney Will Walk You Through Every Step You Need to Follow
We Will Explain the Probate Process in Texas in Terms You Can Understand
Our team fully understands how challenging it can be for people to be facing a probate case. Most of our clients are going through probate for the first time in their lives. At the same time, they are trying to overcome the grief they are feeling after the death of a loved one. If family members and heirs are fighting about the distribution of the estate, the stress can be overwhelming. This is a trying time for you, and our team of probate attorneys in San Antonio fully understands your feelings.
Trust that we will fully explain the process you need to follow to go through probate court. We take the time to cut the jargon out of our explanations, giving you the information you need to make the best choices for your situation. Going through probate court in Texas requires numerous steps, and we will help you go through each one.
- Posting period: After your loved one passes away, the local probate court will post a notice of the death, giving people who want to contest the will up to two weeks to notify the probate court.
- Contesting the will: If you want to contest the will, you have that right, and our team can help you. Anyone who has an interest in the decedent’s estate can file notice to contest the will.
- Validating the will: If no one contests the will, the probate court will hold a hearing to validate the will and to verify the death of the decedent. The court may appoint an administrator or executor to distribute the assets and to pay creditors.
- Cataloging the assets: The executor of the estate will need to create a catalog of all the estate’s assets. This will include a list of any claims from creditors. If you are trying to do this on your own, it can be challenging. Our team can help.
- Identifying beneficiaries and notifying creditors: Those who believe they should be heirs to the estate need to notify the probate court or the executor. Creditors must do the same by filing a claim against the estate.
If the court determines that no valid will exists, the probate judge will perform the job of determining the beneficiaries and preparing to divide the assets among them. We can represent you during hearings about the estate in probate court.
Our San Antonio Probate Attorney Can Help You Contest the Will
If you believe the will is not valid, you should attempt to contest it. The team at Amsberry Law Firm can represent you and walk you through this process. Some of the reasons you may want to contest a will include:
- You believe the will is fake
- You believe that someone coerced or forced the decedent to write the will in a certain way
- You believe the decedent was not mentally capable of making decisions about the will
- You believe more than one will exists
- You believe the decedent’s representative did not execute the will properly.
When problems exist in the will, our probate lawyer can attempt to negotiate a settlement with other beneficiaries on your behalf.
Understanding When You Need to Go Through Probate
After someone dies, the vast majority of cases will need to go through probate court in Texas. According to Texas Law Help, the determination of whether an estate needs to go through probate court is part of Texas state statutes. You can be certain that our probate lawyer in San Antonio will have a full understanding of state laws and will be able to help you move through the probate process successfully.
How does Probate Work if the Decedent Did Not Leave a Will
If your loved one did not have a will at the time of death, the case will need to go before a probate judge. This official will oversee the execution of the estate.
If the decedent did not have many assets or if the decedent had only one potential heir, the probate court case without a will should not be a complex undertaking. However, if the estate has significant assets or multiple potential heirs, the probate process may become extremely complex without having a will in hand. Hiring our San Antonio probate lawyer to defend your rights in probate court can help you navigate the complexities of a case where no will exists.
If you choose to hire us, and if the case is a simple one, we may be able to present an argument before the probate judge that you could qualify for muniment of title, as spelled out in Texas Estates Code Chapter 257. This is a form of probate through which the judge may be able to expedite the final ruling in the case. We may be able to help you reach resolution in 30 days or less under muniment of title.
How Does Probate Work if the Decedent Did Leave a Will
Most of the time, even when your loved one created a will, you will need to go through probate to oversee the distribution of assets. With a will, it is possible that the process will go fast if there are no complexities. However, should one of the heirs or creditors choose to contest the will, the probate court case can become significantly contentious in a short amount of time.
Our San Antonio probate attorneys will represent you to the best of our abilities, whether the probate case is simple or complex. We use our past successes in cases like this to come up with a strategy that gives you the best chance at a favorable outcome. But we also will tailor our strategy to fit the specific facts in your probate case.
Our San Antonio Probate Attorney Will Stay By Your Side From Start to Finish
Amsberry Law Firm Understands All Aspects of Texas Probate Law
As the Texas State Law Library points out, many estates end up needing to go through probate court after the estate owner passes away. Some estates end up in probate as a formality to meet the most basic legal obligations. Others, however, can result in a lengthy fight, necessitating the services of our probate lawyer in San Antonio.
Through probate, the state of Texas legally recognizes the death of a person. Additionally, probate handles the legalities of distributing the assets of the decedent. It oversees the payment of any debts the estate may have. When any of these items are in dispute, we will step in and represent your interests. We do not give up until the estate settlement process comes to an end.
Our Probate Attorneys in San Antonio Know the Ins and Outs of the Local Courts
Russell Amsberry founded Amsberry Law Firm in 1995. Our team has extensive experience working in the probate courts of Kendall County and San Antonio. We also represent clients in the courts and counties in the areas surrounding San Antonio. We know the people working in the local probate court systems, and we know how to expedite our filings with them, giving our clients the best possible level of service.
When you are facing a difficult estate distribution situation after the death of a loved one, count on us to help. Our San Antonio probate attorney will always have your best interests in mind.
Call Amsberry Law Firm today at (210) 354-2244 for a discussion of your case.
Attorney Russell J.G. Amsberry
Attorney Russell J.G. Amsberry founded the Amsberry Law Firm in 1995 with the goal of providing clients with exceptional, focused representation on their issues. His success as a legal advocate has been reflected in the numerous professional honors he has received, such as speaking engagements and inclusion in Scene in SA magazine’s listing of the best lawyers in San Antonio, a Distinguished rating from Martindale-Hubble, and an amazing rating from Avvo. [ Attorney Bio ]