Practice

Kreig LLC’s Corpus Christi office handles nine kinds of probate disputes, listed below. Each has its own proof and its own deadlines, and each has a page explaining how it works in Nueces County.

Who hears probate in Nueces County

Nueces County has no statutory probate court. Probate cases are heard in the county courts at law, which Government Code Section 25.1801 creates and Section 25.1802(a)(5) gives jurisdiction over the estates of deceased persons. Those judges hear other kinds of cases as well, so a contested estate shares the docket with them. The Nueces County District Clerk serves as clerk of these courts in probate cases under Section 25.1802(n).

Because the county has no statutory probate court, Estates Code Section 32.002(b) gives the county court at law and the constitutional county court concurrent original jurisdiction over probate proceedings. Where a case is filed is a choice worth making deliberately at the start.

Common reasons people call

• Accounts emptied before the funeral
• A will signed shortly before death
• No accounting from the executor
• A relative living in the house rent free
• An heir no one knew about
• A trustee who stopped reporting
• Property sold without notice
• A parent under someone else’s control

The nine practice areas

• Will contests. Challenging a will that was admitted to probate, or opposing one before it is. The deadline is short.
• Removing an executor. Asking the court to take authority away from an executor or administrator. Getting money back is a separate claim, covered on the next page.
• Breach of fiduciary duty. Recovering what an executor, trustee, or agent under a power of attorney took or lost, and getting the records.
• Contested heirship. There is no will and the family disagrees about who the heirs are. The case ends in a judgment declaring them.
• Dependent administration. An estate run under court supervision, where the judge approves sales and claim payments before they happen.
• Inherited property disputes. Several heirs own one house or tract and cannot agree what to do with it. This includes partition and the heirs’ property buyout.
• Contested guardianship. The person is still living, and there is a dispute over who should control their money or care.
• Trust litigation. A trustee who will not account, or trust terms obtained by someone the settlor depended on.
• Large and complex estates. Family businesses, mineral interests, blended families, and estates with more than one case pending.

The office serves Nueces, San Patricio, Kleberg, Aransas and Jim Wells counties.