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Per stirpes means by the root. Per capita means by persons. These terms are usually used in a will when a testator is leaving property to several persons, like children. If the testator has three children and says "I give my property to my children per stirpes and not per capita, what he means is that he wants his estate to be divided into three parts (roots) and for each child to receive one part. If a child predeceases the testator, his part (root) will go to his heirs.

 A holographic will is one that is wholly in the handwriting of the testator.

A Settlor, sometimes called a Trustor, is the person who creates and funds a trust and appoints a trustee.

A putative spouse is one who has a good faith belief that he or she is married but who is not legally married. An example will give a clearer picture.

A man and a woman get married either through a formal marriage or an informal, or common law, marriage. They live together for some time and accumulate property. One of them dies and the surviving spouse finds out after the death that the deceased spouse was previously married to someone else but never got a divorce. Because the deceased spouse was never divorced from his first spouse, the marriage to the second spouse is not valid. However, because the second spouse had a good faith belief that he or she was married, the second or putative spouse has rights to property that are similar to a spouse's rights to property in a valid marriage.

A will can be admitted to probate as a Muniment of Title in addition to being admitted for regular probate. Normally, a will is admitted to probate and the person named as the Executor is appointed Executor by the Court. After the Executor files his oath, Letters Testamentary are issued by the clerk to the Executor. Letters Testamentary are the documents that show that the Executor has been duly appointed and is the legal owner of the estate's property. Legal ownership needs to be distinguished from beneficial ownership. The beneficial owners are the persons named in the will to receive the property. The Executor is the legal owner which gives him the right to gather all of the assets of the estate to distribute to the beneficiaries. The Letters Testamentary are required by many financial institutions before they will release accounts belonging to the decedent.

Probating a will as a Muniment of Title provides a means to probate a will quickly and cost-efficiently when there is no need for administration of the estate. A court may probate a will as a Muniment of Title if the court finds that the will should be admitted to probate, that there is no need for an administration and that there are no unpaid debts of the estate other than liens on real estate. One of the purposes of this limited from of probate is to provide continuity in the chain of title to estate properties by placing the will on the public record.

Texas recognizes common law marriages or what Texas calls "Informal Marriages." You can have an informal marriage by:

1. Signing a "Declaration of Marriage;" or,
2. Agreeing to be married; living together in Texas after the agreement; and, representing to others that you are married.

 A proceeding to prove the informal marriage must be filed within two years of the date of death of one of the spouses or within two years of the date the parties ceased living together as husband and wife. If a proceeding is not commenced within two years, there is a rebuttable presumption that the parties did not enter into an agreement to be married.

Many wills have no contest clauses, also referred to as in terrorem clauses. These basically say that anyone who contest the will looses their inheritance under the will. 

Courts don’t like to enforce these forfeiture clauses if there is a reasonable way to avoid enforcement. Many courts created a good faith exception. If a contest was brought in good faith, there was no forfeiture.

Creative lawyers started drafting in terrorem clauses in wills to get around the good faith exception.  They added new provisions to the in terrorem clause.  These provisions dictated that the contestant forfeited his inheritance under the will even if the contest was brought in good faith and with probable cause. Although courts found ways to avoid forfeiture, some of these provisions have been upheld in some cases even if the contest was brought in good faith.

Community property is all property acquired during the marriage except property acquired by inheritance or by gift.  Community property does not include property that you owned before the marriage or property that you acquire during the marriage by inheritance or by gift. 

All property is presumed to be community property.  If someone claims that certain property is their separate property, they have the burden of proof to prove that it is separate and not community.  If they don’t meet that burden, the property is community property no matter how or when it was acquired.  Proving real estate is

If a testator makes a will and leaves specific   property to someone and then later sells or otherwise disposes of the property, the law says that the gift is “adeemed.”  In other words, the person to whom it was given doesn’t get anything.

Ademption applies to specific gifts such as “I give my nephew my 10,000 shares of Exxon stock.”  If the testator sells the shares before he dies or if he gives them away, then the person to whom he gave them in the will gets nothing.  That’s assuming that the only

Are all powers of attorney the same?  

The short answer is no.  A power of attorney can grant a general power or a special power.  It can be a durable power of attorney or not.  You can also have a power of attorney solely for medical decisions.

What do all of these terms mean?  A power of attorney is granted by one person, the principal, to another person, the agent usually called the “attorney in fact.”  The attorney in fact has the powers to act on behalf of the principal and to do those things that the principal has granted him the power to do just as if the principal were doing them himself.

A general power of attorney grants the broadest powers.  An attorney in fact with a general power of attorney can