Probate or Problems: Avoid Family Feuds With Estate Planning For Your Land
Are you a landowner who wants your ranch to pass cleanly to the next generation—or a land agent tired of deals dying over cloudy title?
In this episode of The National Land Podcast, host Mac Christian sits down with Tiffany Dowell Lashmet (Ag Law Professor & Extension Specialist, Texas A&M) and Wayne Dunson (Managing Broker, National Land Realty—West Texas) to demystify probate—the legal process that moves assets from the deceased to the living—and the tools that keep it from blowing up your land plans.
What You’ll Learn:
- What probate is and why you still need it even if there’s a will
- Dying without a will (intestacy): how state statutes—not your wishes—divide assets and create messy joint ownership
- Why failing to probate strands title in the deceased’s name, blocks sales, and costs heirs more later (e.g., Texas has a typical 4-year window)
- Wills vs. Trusts: trusts can bypass probate entirely; when each makes sense for landowners
- Texas will execution basics: handwritten (holographic) vs. typewritten wills, witness rules, and why beneficiaries shouldn’t witness
- Probate-avoidance tools: LLCs and transfer-on-death deeds (in Texas, revocable) to move property with only a death certificate
- Real-world horror stories: unknown heirs, missing co-owners, partition suits, deep discounts to clear title
- Family dynamics you must address now: on-farm vs. off-farm heirs, unequal contributions, and setting expectations
- Why DIY online forms backfire on farms/ranches—hire an ag-savvy estate-planning attorney in your state
- Agent playbook: verify probate status early, flag title clouds, and get clients to counsel before listing
This episode is a must-listen for:
- Landowners and family decision-makers on farms and ranches
- Heirs, executors, and trustees facing title/estate questions
- Land agents/brokers who want to prevent deal-killing probate issues
- CPAs and attorneys serving rural clients
Don’t punt on probate. A valid, state-compliant plan now is cheaper than courtroom chaos later—get the right documents in place, probate on time, and keep your land legacy intact.
Read about Tiffany Lashmet
https://agecon.tamu.edu/people/dowell-lashmet-tiffany/
Contact Wayne Dunson
https://nationalland.com/real-estate-agent/wayne-dunson
National Land Realty
Buy, Sell, Lease, or Auction Land