Checklist of All Marketable Assets
Below is the balance sheet of the hotshot trucking company located in Texas as of 25th/11/2021, displaying the checklist of all current marketable assets as of the date.
Reviewing Texas’s Intestacy Statutes
According to Texas’s Estates Code, chapter 201, the law gives people the freedom to make a will that distributes their assets or property and wishes. A statutory formula is used to distribute the property if somebody dies intestate in Texas or dies without a will. The formula does not consider your wishes or circumstances when dealing with the property; it determines how the assets and property should be distributed to the beneficiaries (Kanapickiene et al., 2021). For instance, all my current assets are inherited by my three children, one adopted child, and my parents.
For instance, if a single person dies intestate but they have children as per code; the property or assets will be divided equally among the beneficiaries or descendants if they come from the same degree of consanguinity and affinity. However, the case will be different if the beneficiaries come from different degrees of consanguinity and affinity, for instance, if your grandchildren have children and their parents who are you children dies and predeceases you, then the younger generation is entitled to get the share that should have given the older generation if they did not die.
A good example is supposed one has four children and all of them survive; then the four are entitled ¼ of the assets or property. If one dies but has three children, the three surviving children will inherit ¼ of the entire property and split their parent share assets. However, if one’s children die, all of them predeceasing them, leaving four grandchildren in total surviving, the grandchildren are entitled to an equal share. In Texas, the property is only classified as owned by a spouse as separate property or community property depending on acquiring it. A property is classified as separate property if one party acquired it before marriage. In Texas, there is an irrebuttable presumption that any assets or property acquired after the formation of marriage is community accepted in cases of inheritance gifts.
For instance, if one owns a mansion or house before marriage, the mansion or home will be recognized as separate property by the law. Moreover, if one inherits gifts or assets from his guardians, friends, or parents that will also be separate property. The property will remain community or separate even if one converts it into cash and back again or invests it. For example, if one sells a mansion owned as separate property, the property will still be classified as separate property by the law in Texas. That is true even though you sold the property while you were married.
Additionally, if you reinvest the sale proceeds into another house titled in your name, that house would also be your separate property, even though you purchased it during your marriage. It is also of necessity that a person purchases a property that does not create room for presumptions of an intended gift to the other party. One should avoid including the spouse’s name in the deeds of the property being recognized as separate property because, in case of any dispute, the other party can claim it as a gift.
The State Statute Controls the Disposition of Each Asset Specifically
If one dies without a will in Texas, the beneficiaries receive an intestate share of their assets. The contribution of a share depends on the number of children, whether or not one is married or not, and finally, if one’s spouse is one’s parents’ child. In my case, all my current assets will be divided equally among my parents, one adopted child, and three children as stipulated in the Texas Estate code CAP 201. In Texas, both inherited children and your children are recognized as one’s children; however, there is an issue of clarity (Nichols et al., 2021). For all children born during any persisting marriage or with your wife, the court will be presumed a child belongs to the husband and is entitled to his share as stipulated under Texas Est. Code § 201.101.
For instance, in the Texas Estate Code §201.054, all legally adopted children are entitled to inheritance, and an intestate shares the same as your biological children or beneficiaries. The stepchildren and foster children that are not legally adopted or recognized by law are not entitled to any share or should not receive any property. In Texas, all children placed for adoption and were legally adopted by another family or group of people will be entitled to an estate share as stipulated under Texas Est. Code §201.054.
Moreover, for all posthumous children conceived by the deceased party but die before the child is born, the child will be entitled to a share of his estate as long they survive for more than 120 hours from the time of birth as stipulated under Texas Est. Code §201.056. Nevertheless, all children born outside the marriage, if one was not married to their children’s mother she gave birth to such children; they are entitled to receive a share of the property. Secondly, if one participates in a marriage ceremony and later is declared void and null, the children will only inherit the property under the following situations (Beyer, 2021). If one acknowledged their paternity in writing, one adopted child, the paternity under Texas statutes during their lifetime, or the child applied for probate to determine inheritance rights and paternity as stipulated under Texas Est. Code §201.052.
The Benefits of a Written Estate Plan
A written estate plan is of very great impact, especially after one dies intestate. It clearly illustrates how one’s property and assets will be disposed to their beneficiaries in case they die. Such a written estate plan also includes one’s incapacitation. If somebody loses their mental capacity or becomes ill or gets an accident, the plan will cater for that. Estate planning serves as a device for wealth management and ensures all beneficiaries are advantaged after the property and finances are properly taken care of and distributed. It helps the dependants avoid intestacy and probate rules to prevent unintended disposal and distribution of property.
References
Beyer, G. W. (2021). 2021 Texas estates & trust codes with commentary. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Kanapickiene, R., Keliuotyte-Staniuleniene, G., & Teresiene, D. (2021). Disclosure of non-current tangible assets information in private sector entities financial statements: The case of Lithuania.Economies, 9(2), 78.
Nichols, T. P., Edgerton, A. K., & Desimone, L. M. (2021). “Smart power” in standards implementation after no child left behind. American Journal of Education, 128(1), 000-000. Web.