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If your loved one died without a Will, transferring his or her assets to beneficiaries can be quite difficult. If no action is taken, assets will not be properly transferred and the beneficiaries will have to take some legal action down the road to straighten out the situation. In some cases, a costly determination of heirship proceeding and dependent administration of the estate may be required.

Two terms are used in the state of Texas to describe a deed that automatically transfers title to real estate you own on your death a transfer on death deed and a Lady Bird Deed (LBD). The distinction between these two deeds is subtle, but very important.

Sometimes, even when a person has drawn up a Will, probate of the Will may not be necessary. Advance planning with probate-alternative documents can avoid the need for probate in many cases.

I frequently am asked by prospective estate planning clients, "Do I need a trust?" The answer is the classic one: It depends.

I have addressed in another blog several steps that can be taken as part of the estate planning process that help avoid the need for probate. If those steps were not taken, a full probate still may not be needed.

A small estate affidavit will not always work, however. In some situations, you may need a determination of heirship. If you find yourself in this situation, make sure you have an experienced attorney to guide you through the steps involved. Otherwise, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the process.

One of my biggest pet peeves over the years has been the over-selling of living trust packages to folks doing their estate planning. There are definitely times when a living trust is a good estate planning tool. However, for many individuals a living trust is an unnecessary expense.

In this series of blogs, I am outlining various different types of probates or probate alternatives to settle an estate and their likely costs. As I mentioned in the introduction to this series, the cost is predominantly determined by the type of procedure followed.

There are several different types of probate where a loved one dies having a Will. The complexity of the proceeding and the cost varies widely depending on which type of probate you can or must use to pass your loved one's estate. The simplest and least expensive type of probate is known as a "muniment of title" proceeding.

Texas law provides for a shortened, less complicated, less expensive form of probate in specific circumstances called probate as a muniment of title. This funny-sounding procedure really means that your loved ones will is officially recognized as valid by the probate court and placed of public record as notice to third parties to honor the terms of the will for transfer of property. This is a very simple process compared to a full, regular probate.