FAQ Page
Probate Will -
The Will of a deceased person is the controlling document relative to his or her remaining worldly affairs. It will name the Executor (male) or Executrix (female) who will be in charge of administering whatever provisions the decedent has made in the Will. The person named in the Will as the Executor or Executrix will make application to the court for the Will to be admitted to probate as the decedent’s Will and for him or her to be appointed in that capacity, as the representative of the decedent’s estate. Once the Will is admitted, the Executor/Executrix must take an Oath accepting the position. Once the Oath has been administered, then the Executor or Executrix will be issued Letters Testamentary which are the letters from the court telling the world that this person now speaks for the decedent’s estate. The Executor or Executrix will have to file an inventory of the estate’s assets. It is the job of the Independent Executor or Executrix to collect all of the decedent’s assets, pay the decedent’s debts and distribute the remaining assets to the persons named under the decedent’s Will. If the estate is a taxable one, then the Executor will also have to see to it that a U.S. Estate Tax Return and a Texas Inheritance Tax Return are prepared and filed within nine (9) months of the decedent’s death. If a person dies in 2008 and that person’s gross estate has a value of less than two million dollars, then the estate is not a taxable one and no death tax returns would have to be filed. Of course, the Executor or Executrix usually files the decedent’s final income tax return as well.
Chapter 13 -
Is the “repayment” option. Under the new law, this is the chapter where you pay back your creditors using a plan adopted by the court and administered by the court-appointed Trustee. This process can take up to seven (7) years to complete and is designed to allow the debtor to clear some of the debt, while, at the same time, giving the creditors some of their money back. There are limitations to this category dealing with the size of the debt and minimum income of the debtor. Only people can file under this chapter. Corporations must use either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11. The plan is devised to take all of the income, pay the normal living expenses, and give the rest to the creditors. Obviously, there can be some discussions about what are normal living expenses and what is income, but, at the end of the day, most people fall into the main categories developed through the years and are processed fairly easily.