For estate and family law attorneys
When the case includes a house, I handle the sale.
Estates and divorces often end with a home that has to be sold, sometimes under a court order and always under pressure. I sell those homes with the paperwork, timing and communication your case needs.
How I work with your office
Built around your case.
You send the file
Client name, property address and where the case stands. I reply the same day and copy your office on every update.
I confirm who can sign
Independent or court-supervised administration, letters on file, a receiver, or both spouses joining. I check before anything is listed so the sale holds up at the title company.
A defensible price
Pricing comes from recent sales in that neighborhood, documented so it can be shown to heirs, a judge or opposing counsel.
Prep without drama
Vacant, inherited and contested homes often need cleanout and repairs. I have more than ten years in construction and remodeling and coordinate crews so nobody in the family has to manage it.
Built around the court calendar
Contract terms and the closing date leave room for any court approval or order the case needs, and I keep both sides informed in writing.
Texas rules I work within
What the sale has to respect.
- Independent executors can sell without a court order. An independent executor generally has the same power of sale as a supervised representative, without court approval, unless the will limits it (Tex. Est. Code 402.002, 402.052).
- Court-supervised estates need an order and approval. The representative applies for an order of sale, reports the contract to the court within 30 days, and the court approves it only if the price is fair and the sale was properly made (Tex. Est. Code 356.251, 356.551, 356.556).
- Letters testamentary are the authority to sign. Title companies want current letters before closing (Tex. Est. Code 306.001).
- Muniment of title and small estates. When there is no administration, the beneficiaries or heirs hold title and sign themselves, and the homestead can pass by recorded small estate affidavit only when it is the only real property (Tex. Est. Code 257.001, 205.001, 205.006).
- A surviving spouse can keep the homestead. The homestead cannot be partitioned among heirs while a surviving spouse uses it as a homestead (Tex. Est. Code 102.005).
- Both spouses join to sell a homestead. Neither spouse may sell the homestead without the other joining, whether it is separate or community property (Tex. Fam. Code 5.001).
- Receivers and exclusive occupancy. Temporary orders in a divorce can appoint a receiver to preserve property and award one spouse exclusive use of the home (Tex. Fam. Code 6.502).
- Standing orders in Collin and Denton. Family court standing orders take effect when the petition is filed and are meant to keep property in place, so I confirm a sale is agreed in writing or ordered before listing.
Sources: Texas Estates Code · Estates Code ch. 356 · Texas Family Code ch. 5 · Family Code ch. 6 · Texas Law Help: standing orders. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Refer a client.
Send the client name, the property address and anything I should know about the case or the court timeline. I reply the same day and keep your office copied.