If you have recently lost a loved one in Texas, it will be important to familiarize yourself with the probate process. Probate is the method the Texas courts use to administer the estates of individuals who die both with and without wills; and, while it is possible to structure an estate plan that largely avoids probate, in most cases at least some involvement with the probate courts will be required.

While Texas’s community property law entitles each spouse to have of the marital estate in a divorce, dividing assets down the middle is rarely a straightforward process. Even setting aside complex issues such as valuation of substantial assets and retirement account distributions, spouses will often be at odds over the not-so-simple issue of deciding who gets what.