Death of family member leads to property disputes

[JNicholas313]

My grandmother passed away, and we are having some issues regarding her home. My grandparents owned a house together in Texas and my grandfather is still alive. Some of my relatives are saying that they are going to try and take 50% of the property from my grandfather, by going into probate. I thought since my grandmother had no will, the property in full would automatically go to my grandfather. Who is right here? We need help!! Thanks so much.

 

[presutin]

I would approach this differently since there are too many unknowns here such as who is the title holder of the property. Seek the advice of an estate attorney as soon as possible so he can guide your grandfather and your relatives on how to proceed when it comes to the division of the asset.

 

[lwpat]

Texas is a community property state and it depends on what relatives you are talking about.

§ 45. COMMUNITY ESTATE. (a) On the intestate death of one
of the spouses to a marriage, the community property estate of the
deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse if:
(1) no child or other descendant of the deceased spouse
survives the deceased spouse; or
(2) all surviving children and descendants of the deceased
spouse are also children or descendants of the surviving spouse.
(b) On the intestate death of one of the spouses to a
marriage, if a child or other descendant of the deceased spouse
survives the deceased spouse and the child or descendant is not a
child or descendant of the surviving spouse, one-half of the
community estate is retained by the surviving spouse and the other
one-half passes to the children or descendants of the deceased
spouse. The descendants shall inherit only such portion of said
property to which they would be entitled under Section 43 of this
code. In every case, the community estate passes charged with the
debts against it.

If they are her children only, they do they have a claim but only to one half of her portion of the community property. Her children would get one fouth in other words. As for the house it depends on how it is titled. If it is joint with right of survivorship it is all his. He may need to open probate.

 

[JNicholas313]

Maybe I should restate the question.. My grandmother and grandfather were the title holder's to the property, and my grandmother passed away. My aunt is trying to get a portion of the property that my grandmother owned before death. There is no will from my grandmother, and I was under the understanding that because there was no will everything legally belonged to my grandfather after her passing. Can you answer better that way? Sorry I wasn't clear in the first post.

 

[presutin]

That is OK. I would still suggest that you consult with an estate attorney to ensure that the property is going to be all his once the title issue is clarified. Good Luck!

 

[lwpat]

I posted the answer. What is it you do not understand?