After a death, families often have a will, a stack of bills, and no clear sense of what a court expects next. Alex Lieber-Alessie has practiced in Houston since 1978. Probate is one of the matters handled at 2203 Hardy St, in a general practice that also covers personal injury, real estate, contract disputes, criminal law, and family law.
Call when you have been named in a will, when a relative died without a will, when a bank will not release an account, or when a house is still titled in the name of someone who has died. You do not need to decide on the first call whether a full court proceeding is required. Say who died, the date of death, the county, and whether you have found a will. That starts the consultation.
Bring the will if you have it, and any codicil. Also useful are a death certificate if one has been issued, a list of known accounts and property, the names of the people named in the will, and any letter from a court, a bank, or an insurance company. If several relatives each hold a different copy or a different understanding of what was promised, say so. The consultation is the place to lay those versions next to the document.
Write the names and how each person is related. Probate files get confused when the family tree is only in someone’s memory. A simple list, with phone numbers for the people who must receive notice, saves a second meeting. If the person who died owned a house, bring the address and any deed you can find. If they owned a business or were in the middle of a sale, bring that contract too. Real estate and probate often travel together in this office.
Hours at 2203 Hardy St, Houston, TX 77026 are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, and Saturday, 9 AM to 1 PM. The office is closed Sunday. Call (713) 224-4300. Conversations are available in English and in Spanish, which matters when relatives who need to understand the same paperwork do not all prefer the same language. Calling ahead is better than arriving with a file and finding the office in another meeting.
This page does not tell you whether you are the person who should file, or what a court will do with a particular will. Those answers depend on the document, on who survived, and on where the property sits. The office reads that file with you. The website only explains how to begin.
Families sometimes wait because the paperwork feels official and the grief is still new. Waiting can matter when a bank, a buyer, or a creditor has already set a date. If a date is printed on a letter, read it aloud when you call so the consultation is set with that date in view.
The information here is general. It is not legal advice, and contacting the office does not create an attorney-client relationship. When you are ready, call (713) 224-4300 and bring the will, or the letter that told you a will is needed.