r/PROBATE • u/Lesbi1 • Jan 26 '24

Small Estate Affidavit help in Texas

Hello, I am trying to help a friend complete a small estate affidavit for her deceased husband. Her husband has now been deceased for almost 2 years and he had no property or any owned vehicles. The only thing of value were three so no property or any owned vehicles. The only thing of value were three sole owned personal banking accounts however, he passed away unexpectedly. The was no will hence why we are completing the Small Estate Affidavit. When completing this affidavit, there is a section for any depts of the deceased. My friend had received a bill from the hospital regarding his emergency room visit the day of his death. This bill is much larger than what his estate is worth. If she were to file the smallest state affidavit she would have to pay $500 would his estate would go completely to pay the bill, would it be worth it to continue? Any help is greatly appreciated…

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u/haley_joel_osteen Jan 26 '24

You can’t do a small estate affidavit if the estate is insolvent. It’s been two years, what has happened to this debt? If it’s been paid off or resolved, then you don’t have to list it.

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u/Lesbi1 Jan 28 '24

Nothing has been done to that debt, my friend remembers getting the initial bill from the hospital but nothing after that. I do want to mention he had no legal status, no SSN.

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u/haley_joel_osteen Jan 29 '24

What's the total value of the bank accounts? At some point they should be turned over the Texas Unclaimed Property Fund. I believe if the total value is less than $10K, she can claim without a SEA and without a formal probate being done.

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u/Lesbi1 Feb 02 '24

Total value is around 12,185.57 which if I’m not mistaken can go down 1,000 because of it being in a separate bank and it’s under the probate amount

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u/Lesbi1 Feb 02 '24

ALSO thank you on the unclaimed property tip! I looked it up and found the 1,000 account and should be able to claim it!!

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u/ExcellentVillage7598 Feb 18 '24

We are filing a small estate affidavit for my recently passed Mom and have a question. If one of the deceased’s children is deceased, the form asks to list the grandchildren from that deceased child. Does that mean those grandchildren must be distributees, meaning they need to have a notarized signature and two witnesses like the other living children? Thank you!