The Journal

Navigating the complexities of probate, estate planning, and inheritance.

A brown dog with a gray muzzle resting in a sunlit kitchen doorway

September 27, 20264 min readPlanning Ahead

Who Will Care for Your Pet After You Die?

How to choose a caregiver for your pet, cover the first few days, and pay for long-term care. Includes what a Texas will can do and how a pet trust works.

Read the feature

A woman handing a folder of documents to a bank teller across a counter

Probate & Courts4 min read

Letters Testamentary vs. Letters of Administration

In Texas, both documents show who can act for an estate. Here is how they differ, how to get them, and what to check before using them.

September 19, 2026

A Texas craftsman bungalow at golden hour with a single rocking chair on the front porch

Probate & Courts8 min read

My Spouse Died in Texas. Who Gets the House?

How a surviving spouse can sort the Texas house question after a death: deed, will, community property, survivorship paperwork, homestead, mortgage, and probate path.

June 29, 2026

A fork in a worn dirt road through Texas Hill Country at late afternoon

Probate & Courts8 min read

Small Estate Affidavit vs. Affidavit of Heirship in Texas

How Texas families can compare two common no-will tools: what each document does, when real property changes the answer, and why debts and heirs come first.

June 19, 2026

A tight graphic crop of labeled file folder tabs in sage green, tan, and cream

Probate & Courts9 min read

Texas Probate Documents Checklist: What Executors Need

Gather the records for Texas probate: death certificates, the original will, heir details, asset and debt records, and paperwork for your filing path.

June 17, 2026