Question re: Texas probate law

The original copy of the will is missing; all the family has is a photocopy. The lawyer who helped to compose the will is nowhere to be found.

What are the family's options for getting the will recognized by the state as valid? Does the lawyer have the only legal copy, or would there also be something filed at the county courthouse or elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for any help. My friend needs something to go on this morning if possible.

Bad news. That photocopy isn't worth much, and the original will not have been filed officially anywhere, including the courthouse.

An original has to be found, so I'd conduct a search of the deceased's files, safe deposit boxes, as well as stepping up efforts to locate the attorney.

I cannot imagine that something would have been filed with a court or registrar while your testator was still alive.

Most places would insist on the original of the will and its non-appearance would be taken as evidence that the testator tore it up, which is a sufficient cancellation of it even if photocopies survive elsewhere. However, there are instances of other evidence establishing that, right up to the end, he wanted the terms of his will followed even though the original cannot now be found. Coming up with that sort of evidence, and convincing a judge, may be a cumbersome and expensive prospect.

You haven't mentioned if any of the various relatives is going to make trouble about the will or lack of it. That could make a big difference. If all the immediate relatives - the ones who would inherit by intestacy if there were no will - are agreeable about accepting the photocopy as a substitute for the original will, then everything is easy. Otherwise things could be difficult and expensive.

It is very possible that the lawyer wasn't entrusted with the original of the will. It might be in the testator's safe deposit box or some other hiding place. I've heard of people hiding their wills so well that it wasn't found until AFTER their entire estate had already been distributed by another method. Ask around, maybe he told someone else where he hid it, or gave it to them for safekeeping or something.

Get a lawyer right now. I would also recommend that no one accept any benefits from the estate (don't let people take stuff out of the house, or access bank accounts if there is a Payable on Death designation) because it might be to your advantage to disclaim assets, and you can't do that if you've accepted the assets. Don't be cheap. Get a lawyer to help you. It will save you some grief in the long run.

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