All articles about Texas Survivor Benefits Navigator.
TRS and ERS pension survivors face irrevocable elections, overpayment clawbacks, and deadlines no one explains. Here's the best resource for Texas public employee families.
Most Texas survivor benefits can be claimed without an attorney. Step-by-step breakdown of what you can file yourself, what requires legal help, and the total value recoverable without a lawyer.
A full-service probate attorney costs $3,000-$10,000+ in Texas. Here are five alternatives for claiming survivor benefits, with honest comparisons of cost, coverage, and limitations.
Comparing a Texas survivor benefits guide to a $250-$400/hr probate attorney. Honest breakdown of when each makes sense, when you need both, and when one wastes money.
Texas recognizes common-law (informal) marriage with full survivor rights — but you must prove it to every agency separately. What you need, how to prove it, and which guide covers it.
What children receive after a parent dies in Texas: Social Security, workers' comp, TRS/ERS, first responder death benefits, MERP protections, and survivor eligibility rules.
How to transfer a car title after death in Texas without probate — using VTR-262, Form 14-317, and the family gift tax exemption. Fees, penalties, and steps.
Texas surviving spouses can keep the Over-65 property tax freeze if they were 55+ when the spouse died. How to file Form 50-114 and protect homestead exemptions.
Texas law provides a $500,000 lump sum, monthly child stipends, lifetime workers' comp annuity, and total property tax exemption for first responder survivors. Full guide.
Texas recognizes common law marriage, but surviving partners must prove it to claim survivor benefits. What evidence works, Social Security rules, and the 2-year deadline.
Texas health insurance options after a spouse dies: 60-day COBRA window, 9-month Mini-COBRA for small employers, and the Chapter 1251 age-50 spousal continuation rule.
What documents to gather before claiming Texas survivor benefits — how many death certificates, what agencies need, and how to prove informal marriage for benefit claims.
Texas workers' comp death benefits pay 75% of average weekly wage. Who qualifies, how to file DWC Form-042, the 1-year deadline, and the remarriage lump-sum rule.
Texas Crime Victims Compensation covers up to $6,500 in funeral costs plus lost wages after a violent crime. How to apply, what's covered, and key deadlines.
Texas has no inheritance or estate tax. But TRS/ERS lump sums are federally taxable. How taxes apply to survivor benefits, Social Security, life insurance, and pension income.
Texas Social Security survivor benefits: the $255 lump sum, monthly survivor payments, how Texas common law marriage is handled, and how to file Form SSA-8.
Texas remarriage rules for survivor benefits — when workers' comp ends, when DIC is protected, property tax exemption rules, and what benefits always survive remarriage.
Texas veterans' survivor benefits: Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), Survivors Pension, total property tax exemption, and how to file VA Form 21P-534EZ.
Texas TRS and ERS death benefits explained: $80,000 active member lump sum, $10,000 retiree benefit, ERS $5,000 lump sum, and how to claim without triggering clawbacks.
Every Texas survivor benefit deadline in one place: 60-day COBRA window, 1-year workers' comp cutoff, 3-year CVC deadline, 4-year probate limit, and more.
Step-by-step Texas survivor benefits checklist covering TRS, ERS, COBRA, property tax, workers' comp, and probate — in the order you actually need to do it.
Texas burial assistance programs for low-income families: Crime Victims Compensation ($6,500), workers' comp burial benefit ($10,000), VA burial allowance, and county indigent burial.