Interactive Financial Tracing Engines
Community Out First Tracing Engine (Sibley v. Sibley)
Trace commingled bank account funds where separate and community property are mixed. Automatically prioritizes community withdrawals before depleting separate property balances under established Texas precedent.
Statutory Reimbursement Calculator (Tex. Fam. Code § 3.402)
Compute statutory reimbursement claims between separate and community marital estates: mortgage principal paydowns, capital improvements (enhancement of value test), and life insurance premium contributions.
Texas Property Characterization Matrix
Determine legal classification based on the Texas Inception of Title doctrine, gifts, devises, personal injury recoveries, and statutory distribution splits under Texas Estates Code § 201.002 and § 201.003.
Cornerstone Statutory Guides
Separate vs. Community Property Rules
Understand the strict Community Property Presumption under Tex. Fam. Code § 3.003 and how to satisfy the Clear and Convincing Evidence standard in estate inventories.
The Sibley Rule & Commingled Account Tracing
Detailed analysis of Texas tracing jurisprudence: item tracing, minimum balance rule, and overcoming commingled mutative property loss.
Marital Estate Reimbursement Claims (§ 3.402)
Complete breakdown of allowable reimbursement categories, statutory measurement standards, and offsets for use and enjoyment in Texas probate administration.
Characterization in Texas Probate Inventories
How personal representatives and independent executors must segregate separate vs. community property on the Estates Code § 309.051 Inventory and Appraisement.
Statutory Probate Courts (Top 10 Texas Counties)
Harris County (Houston)
Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1 through 5. Local inventory audit procedures and independent administration requirements.
Dallas County (Dallas)
Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1, 2, and 3. Tracing exhibits, auditing community property claims, and docket standards.
Tarrant County (Fort Worth)
Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1 and 2. Fiduciary accounting guidelines and surviving spouse property rights.
Bexar County (San Antonio)
Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1 and 2. Bexar County inventory submission rules and contested characterization trials.
Complex Property Tracing Scenarios
Inherited Down Payments for Marital Real Estate
Tracing separate property inheritance funds into community real estate purchases and securing equitable reimbursement.
Retirement Accounts & Stock Option Tracing
Applying the Taggart and Berry apportionment formulas to 401(k), pension, and equity grants straddling marriage dates.
Closely-Held Business Assets in Texas Probate
Evaluating separate property business appreciation, retained earnings vs owner salary, and Jensen community labor claims.
Surviving Spouse Intestacy & Children from Prior Union
Navigating Texas Estates Code § 201.003 when decedent leaves children from outside the marriage, partitioning community vs separate property.