Can stepkids get proceeds from home’s sale?

Q: My parents bought a home in 1954 and separated a few years later. I am one of the six children from that marriage. Though my parents never divorced, my father later married a widow who had two children from a prior marriage. My parents and my father’s second wife have died, and we are selling our parents’ house for $80,000. The problem is the title company says my father’s two “stepchildren” should each get one-eighth of the proceeds. The buyer of the house thinks we should find another title company. What do you suggest?

A: I agree that you should try to find a new title company. You may get lucky and find one willing to split the proceeds six ways, not eight.

But if you are not successful in your search for a new title company, then for the sake of expediency, you should do what the title company says. Although splitting the proceeds six ways would net you $3,333 more than splitting it eight ways, hiring a lawyer and challenging the title company will almost certainly cost you more than that. You might also delay the sale by months or years.

Q: If I become a vegetable, what documents will the agent under my durable power of attorney need to produce to show he has authority to manage my affairs?

A: If your durable power of attorney became effective immediately when you signed it, your agent will need to have only the original power of attorney.

If it was written to become effective upon your incapacity, most power of attorney forms will specify what documentation is needed to establish that you are incapacitated. For instance, it is not uncommon for a power of attorney to state that a physician must certify in writing that you are mentally incapable of managing your financial affairs. Your agent would need to have that doctor’s opinion along with the original power of attorney to act as agent.

Q: Are the online will programs adequate to use for a simple estate? It is just my wife and me with no children.

A: You might think your estate is simple, but writing a will for a person with no children is often very complicated. People with children generally leave their property in equal shares to those children, and that is typically easy to draft.

But people with no children often have a list of persons and charities, with each receiving a certain percentage and each having a different contingency in place if the person is not alive or the charity is not in existence.

You might find a software program that produces a legally sufficient document. But you also might really mess things up trying to write the forms yourself.

One option for you is to use the new Texas fill-in-theblank form available at texaslawhelp.org. Another option is to hire an attorney.

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 board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to: stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.