family law

Hereditary succession is the passing or division of an estate when a person dies without a will; also known as intestate succession.The estate of a person who has died intestate goes through probate court.

Holographic will is an unattested will that is written and signed in the testator’s own handwriting. A holographic will, by definition, does not need witnesses to be valid.

A home study, also called an “adoption study”, is an investigation to determine whether the prospective adoptive parents are fit and qualified to care for a child and whether the physical environment of their home is safe and healthy for all occupants. Usually the investigation includes the health, medical, criminal, family and home background of the adoptive parents.

A householder is the  person responsible for providing a livelihood for a household.

A housekeeper is a person who occupies a house. In other words, a housekeeper is in actual possession of a house and must occupy the whole house. 

[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]

Immediate relatives are the closest family members, which usually include parents, spouses, and children, sometimes including siblings and grandparents. The relationships are created via blood, adoption, and marriage. 

The scope of immediate relatives is varied in different laws and regulations, and the difference has a deep influence on their duty and rights. 

Impute means to ascribe or attribute; to impute is the action of attributing a person with knowledge, liability, duty, or other various forms of responsibility. The act of imputing is indifferent to whether or not the imputee had sought or accepted those various forms of responsibility. 

In extremis means to face dire circumstances, which may include imminent death or being near the point of death. An in extremis condition is a prerequisite for a nuncupative will. In McClain v. Adams, 135 Tex.