Here’s what to do when a small bill comes due
Q: When I was a new resident of Texas City in 2019, I had a sore throat and sought the services of a physician at a local clinic. I never saw the doctor again until yesterday. When I checked in, I was told I had a balance due of $20 from 2019, and I needed to pay it. When I asked why I never received a bill, I was told they don’t send bills for such small amounts. When the office staff couldn’t produce any paperwork to substantiate the bill, I said my books were closed for the year 2019, and I would not pay it. No, $20 would not make or break me, but it was the principle of the matter. Was I right or wrong?
A: I think it was wrong to refuse to pay the bill.
I have done the same thing in my law practice many times over the years. Rather than send a bill for a small fraction of an hour, I add a note to the file as a reminder to add the time to the next invoice, if the client ever comes back for additional work.
Q: My mother passed away last summer. She owned only one asset, a credit union account with about $40,000 in it. Her will specifies the distribution of the account. I have been on her account for a number of years. Do I have to probate her will? If not, I will just write the appropriate checks from the account to my siblings and then close
the account. A:
If you and your mother held the account as joint tenants with right of survivorship, then the money in the account now belongs to you. You would simply need to notify the bank that she has died, and the account will be retitled to your name alone. You would then be free to make gifts to your siblings in the amounts of your choosing. (You could also simply keep the money, but that might make them a bit annoyed.)
If the two of you held the account as tenants in common, and
you tell the bank your mother has died, they will freeze the account. (The bank may have already frozen the account.)
If the account is not frozen, the odds are no one will stop you if you do as you say and empty it out by writing checks to yourself and your siblings. None of your siblings would complain. After all, each of them will receive more money if you don’t hire an attorney and go through probate.
Legally though, you no longer have the authority to write checks on your mother’s account, and if you were to seek advice of an attorney, you might be advised not to write the checks.
If you find out that the account is already frozen, or if you want to do things by the book, then you should hire an attorney and probate your mother’s will.
The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Readers with legal problems, including those whose questions are addressed here, should consult attorneys for advice on their particular circumstances. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com