It is a common misconception to think of "Estate Litigation" as meaning "Will Contests." While Will Contests comprise a large portion of this area, more law suits are being filed with regard to "non-probate" or "non-testamentary" assets. Those of us involved in estates realize that an increasing percentage of people's assets pass outside of the probate process. This means that your Will may not distribute most of your assets upon death. Most people don't know that. Many types of bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, annuities and life insurance policies are distributed to the named beneficiary on that account.

Our litigation experience has shown that it is much easier for someone to influence an elderly person to change an account -- or sign a signature card that they do not understand -- than it is to get a new Will legally executed. It is not required to have witnesses, nor notaries, in order to change a beneficiary. In many cases, a single beneficiary designation may distribute -- or "re-distribute" -- the majority of a deceased individual's estate. The ill-advised trend toward "Do-It-Yourself" estate and financial planning has significantly increased the amount of fraud and resulting law suits in this area. At Randy Drewett, PC, we attempt to help those whose inheritance rights have been threatened by the fraud of others.

The attorney in charge of litigation is Terry W. Wood. He is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in both Texas Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law. Terry is a named partner in the firm of Crutchfield, DeCordova and Wood. He and Randy have worked together to successfully defend the rights of our clients in estate law suits since 1996.