{"id":12707,"date":"2023-04-16T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2023-04-16T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legaltalktexas.hammerle.com\/?p=12707"},"modified":"2025-06-18T13:04:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T18:04:04","slug":"best-probate-shortcut-family-agreement-settle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/probate\/best-probate-shortcut-family-agreement-settle\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Probate Shortcut: The Family Agreement to Settle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part 3 of a 3- part series on estate administration shortcuts. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/probate\/shortcut-with-long-odds-seldom-successful-small-estate-affidavit\/?utm_source=mediumgiant&amp;utm_medium=linkedin&amp;utm_campaign=probate\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">View part 2 of the series<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Family Settlement Agreement, or FSA, is a wonderful way to resolve an estate dispute after someone dies. It just needs a bit of careful handling to be successful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To understand how and why an FSA works, you need to know a few basics about the law, especially as it <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/this-is-what-you-need-to-know-before-signing-a-will\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">relates to wills<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Do Wills Work?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a decedent dies with a will, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/five-secret-laws-that-could-undermine-your-estate-plan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Texas law<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> does not require that the will be offered for probate. A will that is not probated does nothing \u2013 it does not pass title to property or the right to possession to property. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/probate\/some-executors-find-it-difficult-to-distribute-probate-estates\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">court must confirm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that a will is valid or admit it to probate before the will has any effect.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When a decedent dies without a will, then Texas law provides who will receive the property as an heir. A court must determine <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/legal-talk\/determining-heirs-deciphering-law-descent-distribution\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">who is a rightful heir.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can see where this is going. After a decedent dies, there is either a scheme in the decedent\u2019s will or in the law for distribution of the decedent\u2019s estate. But what if the distributees \u2013 either the will beneficiaries or the heirs at law \u2013 do not like the scheme? Can they agree to an alternate distribution plan?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, they can. Cue the Family Settlement Agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>How Do Family Settlement Agreements Work?<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an FSA, the beneficiaries under a will can agree not to admit the will to probate, or to admit a will that was not the decedent\u2019s most <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/estate-planning\/do-it-yourself-will-changes-how-not-to-amend-your-will\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recent will<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They can agree to admit the will to probate but to change the dispositions provided under the will. They can even agree who will serve as personal representative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If there was not a will, then in an FSA the decedent\u2019s heirs can agree on how the decedent\u2019s assets should be distributed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FSA\u2019s are often used to resolve controversies. The parties could have a dispute over the validity of a will or an interpretation of a provision of the will, who will serve as executor or administrator, or asset distribution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An FSA should only be used if there is a legitimate controversy that is being resolved, otherwise the IRS might decide the agreement triggers the imposition of a federal gift <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/probate\/not-even-taxes-can-stop-death-the-impact-of-expectations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tax on the transfers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once an agreement is reached, it should be reduced to writing and signed by all of the necessary parties. That, of course, brings up another question: who are the necessary parties? If the FSA is changing a will, then all of the beneficiaries must sign it. If the FSA is not to probate a will or regarding an intestate estate, then the parties must be all of the beneficiaries under each will not being probated and all of the decedent\u2019s intestate heirs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An FSA can even replace a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/wills-trusts\/types-of-probate-in-texas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">formal probate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> proceeding, if the agreement is sufficient to transfer all of the decedent\u2019s property.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Common Roadblocks on the Way To A Family Settlement Agreement<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what are the pitfalls of an FSA? There are several.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Third parties, such as banks, will probably not go along with the FSA terms unless the FSA has been approved by a court. So, while an FSA may render a formal probate unnecessary, it may not eliminate all court interaction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An FSA is a contract. It is prudent to have an attorney <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/legaltalk\/legal-talk\/7-times-when-you-need-a-lawyer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">draft the FSA contract<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The last pitfall is the inherent liability involved if a minor or incapacitated adult is a necessary party, and that person\u2019s share is reduced by the FSA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That aside, it is easy to see why Family Settlement Agreements are highly favored in the law.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hammerle Morris Can Help With Your Probate Needs\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wondering what <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/practice-areas\/estate-planning-probate\/probate\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">probate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> solutions would work best for you and your family? <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/lewisville-attorney\/#form\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schedule a consultation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with one of the experienced <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/lawyers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attorneys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Hammerle Morris to discuss your options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attorney <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/lawyers\/virginia-hammerle\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virginia Hammerle<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has practiced litigation and estate planning for 40 years. She is founder and managing attorney for <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/hammerle.com\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 3 of a 3- part series on estate administration shortcuts. View part 2 of the series. A Family Settlement Agreement, or FSA, is a wonderful way to resolve an estate dispute after someone dies. It just needs a bit of careful handling to be successful. To understand how and why an FSA works, you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1225],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-probate"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Best Probate Shortcut: The Family Agreement to Settle | Hammerle Morris Law Firm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Virginia Hammerle discusses when it\u2019s the best time to utilize the family settlement agreement to resolve an estate dispute.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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