In Texas, you may avoid the requirements of probate if you have a limited estate by filing a community property agreement and/or amendment to your deed if the goal is to avoid probate between spouses. Simply put, if Alice and John are married and have a home which is their principal asset that would need to be transferred in probate, a simple revision of their deed or filing of a community property agreement establishing that the survivor will have 100% of the house will eliminate the need for a probate of the estate or a muniment of title if there are no other assets that need to be probated. The typical cost for a modification to a deed of this sort costs less than $500.00 where the average muniment of title probate proceeding can run between $1,000.00 and $2,000.00 and a full probate can run in excess of $2,500.00.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Yale Law Group at 940-222-8025.
