Brother passed without a will

[Travis_Mcgee]

My Brother passed this month without a will and there are many questions.
He had been unemployed for a lengthy time so he had few assets and substantial debt. He started work on 2/8/2010. He became ill and took off from work around June 4th. He entered the hospital on the 10th and passed away on the 13th.
He lived in Texas. He is divorced with children, and still owes the ex about 15k in child support that the state administers... the ex gets his irs tax refunds etc...

He lived with mom, and his possessions in her house might sell for around $1200.00
He had many debts... my guess is around 10k to co's such as citibank, home depot etc..
He has a car loan that is owed about what the vehicle is worth.
He had under $200.00 in his checking/savings account. Mom went to the bank last week where she also has an account and they gave her the money in those accounts. ( they said they could do this because the amount was under a certain limit- I think her name was on the checking account)

Questions:
#1 Do we have to go to probate court and create an estate?
#2 Might the state sue the family to form an estate if only to prove there are no assets for the child support?
#3 Might the creditors sue the family to form an estate? It seems to me they would look at his credit report and see the large debt and be mindful that funeral expenses - that mom paid for - come off the top, and determine that it's probably not worth the effort, but that's just a guess.

#4 As for medical bills...Should we expect to be sued to form an estate for this? from what I understand the family medical leave law allows insurance to cancel med insurance for an employee of less then one year if the employee is unable to report to work.The hospital bill for those few days with all the testing and ICU care is probably well north of 30k- I don't know what the "payment due from patient" is yet. . It occurs to me that they might not have access to his credit report and will want to see if there are assets.

A letter from the insurance company arrived on the 23 stating that he had involuntary left the company and his coverage stopped on the 7th. And that he has so many days to elect to continue the coverage effective the 8th.

#5 Does selling, or giving away his possessions, or contacting the note holder of his vehicle to come get the car, or receiving the money from his accounts at the bank, or sending death certificates to creditors - which she has done- make the mother an executor by default with further obligations?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

 

[army judge]

My Brother passed this month without a will and there are many questions.
He had been unemployed for a lengthy time so he had very few assets and lots of debt. He started work on 2/8/2010. He became ill and took off from work around June 4th. He entered the hospital on the 10th and passed away on the 13th.
He lived in Texas. He is divorced with children, and still owes the ex about 15k in child support that the state administers... the ex gets his irs tax refunds etc...

He lived with mom, and his possessions in her house might sell for around $1200.00
He had many debts... my guess is around 10k to co's such as citibank, home depot etc..
He has a car loan that is owed about what the vehicle is worth.
He had under $200.00 in his checking/savings account. Mom went to the bank last week where she also has an account and they gave her the money in those accounts. ( they said they could do this because the amount was under a certain limit- I think her name was on the checking account)

First of all (and most importantly), please accept my condolences on your loss.
May your brother forever rest in eternal peace.

Questions:
#1 Do we have to go to probate court and create an estate?

No, dying without a will ("intestate" in Texas) the state will 'write one for you'.
This is known as the laws of descent and distribution.
Your brother did not appear to possess enough assets to worry about probating them.
Remember what the bank did for your mother and the small amount he left in his checking account?

The distribution of the property of an unmarried intestate is governed by Probate Code § 38(a). Real and personal property are treated the same.
1. Surviving Issue
If the unmarried intestate is survived by one of more issue (e.g., children or grandchildren), then all of the intestate's property passes to the descendants. See § D, below, for a discussion of how this distribution is done.
2. No Descendants Survive But a Parent Survives
The following distributions occur if the unmarried intestate has no surviving descendants but does have at least one surviving parent.
a. Both Parents Survive
If both parents survived the intestate, each parent inherits one-half of the estate.
b. One Parent Survives Along With a Sibling or a Sibling's Descendants
If only one parent survives and the intestate is also survived by at least one sibling or a descendant of a sibling (e.g., niece or nephew), then the surviving parent receives one-half of the estate with the remaining one-half passing to the siblings and their descendants. See § D, below, for a discussion of how this distribution is done.
c. One Parent Survives but No Sibling or Descendant of a Sibling Survives
If one parent survives and there is no surviving sibling or a descendant of a sibling, then the surviving parent inherits the entire estate.
3. No Surviving Descendants or Parents
If the unmarried intestate is survived by neither descendants nor parents, then the entire estate passes to siblings and their descendants. See § D, below, for a discussion of how this distribution is done.
4. No Surviving Descendants, Parents, Siblings or Their Descendants
If the unmarried intestate has no surviving descendants, parents, siblings or their descendants, the estate is divided into two halves (moieties) with one half going to paternal grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc. and the other half to the maternal side. Texas does not have a laughing heir statute preventing these remote relatives from inheriting. If one side of the family has completely died out, the entire estate will pass to the surviving side. See State v. Estate of Loomis, 553 S.W.2d 166 (Tex. Civ. App.—Tyler 1977, writ ref'd).
5. No Surviving Heir - If the unmarried intestate has no surviving heir, the property will escheat to the state of Texas under Property Code § 71.001.

http://www.mystatewill.com/statutes/tx_law.htm

#2 Might the state sue the family to form an estate if only to prove there are no assets for the child support?

I doubt it.
Your brother has (as one day we will) escaped teh greedy claws of the state and the taxman!

#3 Might the creditors sue the family to form an estate? It seems to me they would look at his credit report and see the large debt and be mindful that funeral expenses - that mom paid for - come off the top, and determine that it's probably not worth the effort, but that's just a guess.

No, you're worrying too much over this.
People die, and creditors lose money.
Some unscrupulous creditors will try to "con' the money out of you, but you can ignore them
You have no legal duty to pay the debts of anyone but yourself!

#4 As for medical bills...Should we expect to be sued to form an estate for this? from what I understand the family medical leave law allows insurance to cancel med insurance for an employee of less then one year if the employee is unable to report to work.The hospital bill for those few days with all the testing and ICU care is probably well north of 30k- I don't know what the "payment due from patient" is yet. . It occurs to me that they might not have access to his credit report and will want to see if there are assets.

A letter from the insurance company arrived on the 23 stating that he had involuntary left the company and his coverage stopped on the 7th. And that he has so many days to elect to continue the coverage effective the 8th.

No, you are not responsible for his medical bills.
The taxpayers (you, me, all of us) pay taxes to address these issues.
What the government can't or won't poay, will be absorbed by the medical care provider.
Some families eventually pay the medical bills of their deceased loved ones, but they are under no legal duty to do so.
You can ignore any demands or bills from anyone for the debts your brother incurred.

#5 Does selling, or giving away his possessions, or contacting the note holder of his vehicle to come get the car, or receiving the money from his accounts at the bank, or sending death certificates to creditors - which she has done- make the mother an executor by default with further obligations?

Thanks in advance for your answer.

No, a parent is not responsible for the debts incurred by their adult children.
Please, pass along my regrets and sympathies to your mother.
Now, take some time and grieve the untimely loss of your brother.