Waco Probate Attorney for McLennan County Land, Family, and Business Estates

Some estates are a house and a bank account. Many McLennan County estates are a lot more: forty acres that three generations farmed, a deed still in a great-grandfather's name, or a small shop that pays the family's bills. A Waco probate attorney can untangle those estates and protect what your family built. Michalk, Beatty & Alcozer, L.P. has worked with Central Texas families for more than twenty years, and Attorney Jay R. Beatty personally handles every probate matter. This page covers the problems we see most in Waco: land that passed without a court case, family members who co-own property, farm tax breaks, and fights between siblings. To see how this fits across the region, read about our Central Texas probate practice.

Waco is the region's largest city, but its estates often reach well outside the city limits. The Brazos River valley and the farm country around it keep many families tied to land. Downtown's growth over the past decade also brought a new generation of small business owners. Both groups need more than a standard will-and-inventory process.

How a Waco Probate Attorney Helps McLennan County Families

Most probate firms start with the will. We start with the land records. A deed, a survey, and a tax statement tell us who really owns what, and they often tell a different story than the family remembers. Once we know what the estate holds, we pick the right court process, file it, and move the case forward.

We handle the full range of work. We probate wills, appoint executors, and run the creditor notices. We also open heirship proceedings, clear old titles, guide families through buyouts, and step in when relatives disagree. You get one attorney from the first call to the final distribution.

Where Waco Estates Get Filed

In McLennan County, the County Court is the probate court. Its probate and guardianship docket sits at 501 Washington Avenue, Suite 215, in Waco, TX 76701. The County Clerk's probate department takes the filings, and its mailing address is P.O. Box 1727, Waco, TX 76703. Texas files probate in the county where the person lived at death (Estates Code § 33.001), so a Waco resident's case belongs here.

Two details help families. The clerk does not record a will until it has been probated, but the office will hold an original will in safekeeping for a fee, so call before you assume it's lost. And the Tenth Court of Appeals sits in the same building, at 501 Washington Avenue, Room 415, so an appeal of a McLennan County probate ruling doesn't leave the courthouse. Our Waco probate attorney files the application, tracks the hearing, and handles every notice for you.

When Land Has Passed Down for Decades Without Probate

This problem is the one that surprises McLennan County families most. A grandfather died in 1985. The family agreed Dad would keep the farm, and nobody filed anything. Now Dad has died too, the deed still shows the grandfather, and a buyer's title company won't close.

Texas gives you three tools, and the right one depends on the facts.

Probate the old will. If the grandfather left a will, Texas allows a will to be offered for probate within four years of death (Estates Code § 256.003). After four years, a will can still prove title as a muniment of title, but only if the person offering it wasn't at fault for the delay. We check that "not in default" requirement carefully before we file.

Ask a judge to declare the heirs. In a determination of heirship, the court hears evidence about the family tree and signs a judgment naming every heir and their share. That judgment carries real weight with title companies. If some heirs can't be found, the court appoints a lawyer to represent them, and the case goes forward.

Record an affidavit of heirship. An affidavit is cheaper and faster, but it's only evidence. Once it has sat in the county deed records for five years, Texas treats it as proof of who the heirs are (§ 203.001). It cannot cut off the rights of an heir who was left out, and a title company can still refuse it. We use affidavits when the family tree is simple and no one disputes it.

Which tool fits? Use the will first if one exists and the four-year rule allows it. Use a judgment when the family tree is messy, a title company is balking, or an heir may dispute the facts. Use an affidavit when the tree is short and everyone agrees. Many families need two of these tools, and we often start with the affidavit and add the judgment if a title company pushes back. A wrong first choice costs months, so we map the decision before we file anything.

When Cousins Co-Own the Farm

Land passed down without a plan often ends up with many owners. Each heir owns an undivided share of the whole, not a patch of ground. One cousin can walk into court and ask for a partition, which can force a sale of land the rest of the family wants to keep.

Texas added protection in 2017 with the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (Property Code ch. 23A). In these cases, the other co-owners get a chance to buy out the person who asked for the sale. The court orders an appraisal, and it weighs more than price before it allows a forced sale. We use that law to help families keep land together, and we negotiate buyouts, land swaps, and written co-ownership agreements before anyone files.