Terry Garrett advises people in Central Texas who are preparing for and enjoying their retirement years and people with special needs and their families. Her clients range from couples who are just starting out and people who want to stay in charge during retirement to families with multinational businesses. Having worked and studied in Asia for many years, she also enjoys advising on transnational planning. Terry Garrett graduated with honors from Cornell University. She was on the Dean's List at Wharton Business School. She earned her J.D. at Columbia Law School, receiving the Parker Award and a Melon Fellowship. She attended the Harvard Law School Negotiation Program and earned every certificate offered by the New York Institute of Finance. She is active in the Texas and Austin Bar Associations and a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is an Approved Guardianship Attorney and is appointed by Central Texas courts in heirship proceedings. She handles pro bono cases for Volunteer Legal Services, the Austin Bar Association and the Women's Resource Fair. Mother of a child with special needs, she also teaches for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Over the years she has volunteered for the Council on Adoptable Children, the AFS foreign exchange student program, Cornell Cares, Hands on Housing and as an officer of the Harmony PTO.
- Estate Planning
- Elder Law
- Probate
- Special Needs Planning
- Credit Cards Accepted
- New York
- Texas
- Chinese
- Japanese
- The Garrett Law Firm, PLLC
- Current
- Columbia University
- J.D. (1983) | law
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- Honors: Parker Award, Mellon Fellowship
- Activities: President, International Law Society; International Law Review, Environmental Law Review; Chinese and Japanese law study groups
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Current
- National Guardianship Association
- Current
- Texas State Bar # 24048146
- Member
- - Current
- Austin Bar Association
- - Current
- Approved Guardianship Attorney
- State Bar of Texas
- Q. AUNT IS TRUSTEE / EXECUTOR OF ESTATE. I AM NAMED AS A BENEFICIARY. HOW LONG MUST I WAIT BEFORE RECIEVE MY PART
- A: That depends on how long it takes the executor to collect the property and pay the debts (including filing the final income tax return). 15 months after the executor is appointed by the court you may request an accounting. If there is no distribution 24 months after the executor is appointed, you may ask to remove her. Nationwide, the average time to settle an estate is two years. This one may or may not take longer.
- Q. If a will has already been probated, how can I find out who the lawyer is to contact him?
- A: The probate or county court probate records will have the lawyer's name. In some counties these are online. Look by the name of the decedent.
- Q. I am the Executor and heir to the decedent's estate in Texas. I have a Deed (unrecorded) to property. There is a will.
- A: You cannot sell property you do not own. A recorded deed is evidence of ownership. If the deed is recorded before death, the property passes by deed, not by Will. If the person granting the deed has already died, maybe the title company will advise you to record Affidavits of Heirship to transfer the property. But you may need to present the Will for probate. Please note that the Texas Estates Code requires that a Will be presented for probate (proving) within 30 days following death. Administering an estate involves gathering all the decedent's property, paying all their debts and only then distributing property.
- Q. My father committed suicide in 2006 & left No will how can we get my moms name on the deed or sell it?
- A: If your father's only children are also your mother's children, ask two people who can witness to this sign an Affidavit of Heirship before a notary public and record it in the county deed records.
- Q. My brother died, no will. His son may have already contacted a probate lawyer, do I need my own separate attorney. ?
- A: You do not need a separate attorney. However, you should be aware that since your brother died without a Will, his interest in the home will pass to his children (if he had no spouse), not to you. As heirs, they can bring a suit for partition. That means you must either buy them out or the house will be sold and the proceeds split. They may agree to lease their interest in the home to you for awhile -- or for life. For this, you will need a lawyer.
- Q. Who owns the car when a partition agreement has been done. No community property agreed. Both names on title. No and or.
- A: Sell the car and split the proceeds.
- Q. If I create a trust as a Texas resident, then move to AR, is it still tax exempt?
- A: It is not clear what kind of trust you contemplate creating and what taxes (income, gift, estate, generation skipping transfer) you hope it will not have to pay.
- Q. My step brother has had my grandmother transfer land and possibly other property to him and she doesn’t remember it
- A: Contact APS. Take your grandmother to her physician. Ask him to complete a Physician's Certificate of Medical Examination (available on my website or from any probate court or Approved Guardianship Attorney). Hire an attorney to possibly file (1) a correction deed, (2) a Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Permanent Injunction and, if needed (3) a Guardianship. Exploitation of an elderly person is a first degree felony in Texas.
- Q. can a family member give a Notice To Quit when I don't pay rent.
- A: The owner can give this notice to anyone.