Q. For years, I've heard that probating a will in Texas is simple and can be done by a lay person, but in response to a recent question on the subject, you said the first step is to hire a lawyer. To clarify, can a lay person probate a simple will in Texas without the need to hire a lawyer?

A. The answer to your question depends on where you live.

In densely populated counties like Harris County, the courts are extremely busy, and they have adopted policies of not allowing people to probate wills without a lawyer. But in smaller counties, the judges are perfectly willing to let people probate wills on their own.

The courts in the larger counties simply don't have the time to explain the probate process to all the people who call asking for help. More often than not, when people try to conduct a probate proceeding without a lawyer, forms are prepared incorrectly or not at all, and the required court hearings are slowed to a crawl.

Courts justify this decision in a number of ways. Some courts say the "client" in a probate matter is the estate of the person who died and not you, the Executor. You may be allowed to represent yourself in a legal matter, but you cannot represent another party--which is the estate in a probate matter--unless you are a licensed attorney.

Other courts say that because many probate proceedings are not straightforward or because witnesses may need to be deposed or cross-examined, a lawyer should be present. Judges are sometimes unwilling to let non-lawyers handle the representation and conduct the court hearing.