Unfortunately, if a family member or a loved one dies, and they own property, it might not be the thing you want to do, but what we need to do is transfer that property. Create a link between your loved one and the next property owner.

There are various ways, depending on whether there’s a will or not, to successfully create that link in the chain of title. We have to file in county court, and we need to file a muniment of title. (That’s what the lawsuit would be called to create that link.)

Now, if there is not a will, it gets a little more technical because the State of Texas has a statute that essentially writes a will for you. It is called intestate succession, and that gets very complicated and technical.

The point is, there is an easy way to get through that, and it’s through an affidavit of heirship. An affidavit of heirship is a simple notarized document that declares from a neighbor or a loved one, declaring or testifying to the family history of this one individual. That becomes important because the remaining heirs will inherit the property which becomes an issue later.

We need to, then, if you want the property concentrated in one person, for sale or for one person to live in, you’ll need to deed your interest in property to that one person. Each of the remaining heirs would have to do the same.

I handle estate law at my firm. Give me a call. We can get that resolved. It really is not that complicated. It’s just something that you don’t need to deal with at this moment in your life.