After death of mother, retain these documents
Q: My mother died in October 2021. What documents of hers should I maintain and for how long?
A: Documents such as her durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney and living will are no longer needed. They can be thrown away. Shredding these and any other documents you decide to discard is best, as they sometimes contain confidential personal information.
If she died with a will and you haven’t probated it yet, you should definitely retain the original, as it will be needed to probate her estate. If your mother signed any trust agreements or owned real estate, hold on to the original agreements and deeds, too.
If there are any other documents that seem important, such as tax returns, scan them and store the files securely either locally or with a
cloud-based storage service. The hard copies can then be shredded.
If your mother has years and years of bank and brokerage account statements and folders full of utility, property tax, credit card and insurance bills, you may want to keep three years of these, but all the prior years can be thrown out. Again, shredding is best. In two or three years, you can shred the rest as well.
Q: Our housekeeper’s husband died without a will, and his wife wants clear title to their house. Please advise as to the best way to do this.
A: In Texas, when a person dies without a will, it is often possible to file a small estate affidavit or an affidavit of heirship to clear up title to a house. However, if there are other assets, a complicated and expensive probate might be needed. Without more information, it’s impossible to say which way would be best.
Q: My mother died 18 years ago and left her home to me and my eight siblings. One of my sisters is executor. The house is sitting there empty. Several of us want to sell. Two siblings have since died. What can we do?
A: What you need to do depends on several factors, including whether your mother’s will has been probated and whether the estates of your two siblings have been probated. It is important to know who owns the shares of your deceased siblings.
The best approach might be for all the owners to choose a Realtor to list the property for sale and have the Realtor contact a title company to find out what will be needed for the property to sell. A few affidavits of heirship may be all they require. You can then take the appropriate steps ahead of time so the sale will not be delayed once you have a buyer.
The information in this column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is boardcertified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Email questions to: stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.