Houston, TX Affidavit of Heirship Lawyer

Attorney for Transferring Title Without Probate in Houston, TX

If your close family member passed away and did not have a will or trust in place controlling his or her real property, you might be worried about how you will probate a house. In Texas, if a person you would naturally inherit from under the laws of intestacy left behind real property, you might be able to transfer the deed into your name without going through the full probate process by using an Affidavit of Heirship.

The Fealy Law Firm, PC is experienced in helping people take title to their deceased relatives' real property without going through probate. Using an Affidavit of Heirship can save you both time and money, or even prevent you from having to sell a family to cover estate taxes and probate expenses. If you are eligible to transfer real property through an Affidavit of Heirship, Attorney Vicky Fealy will work to accomplish this simplified type of transfer.

How to Use an Affidavit of Heirship in Texas

You cannot fill out an Affidavit of Heirship for yourself in Texas. This is to prevent parties who do not have any genuine familial relationship to the decedent from simply making a false claim and taking title to a property that does not rightfully belong to them.

Instead, you will need to find two disinterested parties who know you personally and know your family situation. Disinterested parties are people who are not related to you or the decedent, would not have any claim to the real property in question, and would not personally benefit from you taking title. Many people choose family friends they have known for a long time, neighbors who knew their family well, or the decedent's caregivers. Anyone who knows your family well enough to sign a sworn statement stating that you are the decedent's natural heir can likely sign this document.

It is best for an attorney to draft this affidavit. An affidavit is a sworn statement made to a court. You must have the Affidavit of Heirship notarized, meaning that your witnesses must accompany you to sign it in front of the notary, and then submit it to the court.

Benefits of Using an Affidavit of Heirship

It can be much faster and easier to transfer eligible property using an Affidavit of Heirship than by going through probate. Some of the benefits of taking title to real property this way include:

• Protecting the property - If you must probate a house, you may need to either pay probate fees and estate taxes or sell the property to cover these costs and keep the remainder of the proceeds. Using an Affidavit of Heirship can prevent this issue.
• Seamless transfer - Once your affidavit has been accepted by the court, you can simply have the deed transferred into your name without too much difficulty.
• Less pressing time limit - You may not have known about your family member's passing until years after the fact. While you have a limited window of time to initiate probate, you can use an Affidavit of Heirship to transfer real property years after your family member's passing.
• Lower cost - You will likely only need to pay the filing fee, which is normally between $50 and $75 dollars, and any fee needed to transfer the deed. This is far less costly than going through probate.

Contact a Houston, TX Attorney for Affidavits of Heirship

The Fealy Law Firm, PC is experienced in using Affidavits of Heirship to seamlessly transfer real property not controlled in a decedent's estate plan. Attorney Vicky Fealy will work with you to identify the best people to have sign this document so that you can easily transfer the deed to your deceased relative's real property. Contact us at 713-526-5220 for a complimentary consultation.