<prompt> Human: Hello,I posted these questions in rlegaladvice at but there have been no responses since yesterday. I thought Id repost them here in case anyone has some info as some of these items are applicable to this sub. This is for the state of Texas. Any info would be greatly appreciated.I dont want to go into too much detail here, but you can probably figure a few things out by the questions. Some I just need yes or no questions on, while others may be more involved.1. Is a lawyer required for Will Probate? A lawyer said yes probably wants to be paid and another party said no. Since Im not the one with the will Im wondering if I should still get a lawyer for it to make sure its done correctly.2. Can wills be contestedchallenged?3. How do you know when a probate begins on a will? I probably didnt phrase that right, but since I dont have the will and another party is taking care of it, how do we know when its started to make sure that its followed through on correctly?4. Do I need a lawyer for Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney? I have someone that will probably need to have these done.5. If a checking account was in the deceased spouses name, but if its not left directly in the will to anyone, how can it be claimed?6. Is there anything that can be done about items taken out of a safety deposit box by another party on the list of people that have access? Im guessing a big fat no. Basically, what was in the box was supposed to go to someone else not specifically in the will, but another party already took the items out.7. Do I need a lawyer to sign over a house?8. If a house is unable to be sold too much work required to get it to a position to be sold that itd never be made back with the sale, can you just surrender it to whatever government entity local that you pay taxes to? So if someone moves out, cant sell the house, but doesnt want to pay taxes on it, what are the options?9. Are any debts in solely the deceased spouses name able to be transferred to the surviving spouse by the creditor, or can they be written off? I dont think there are any, but if they can be written off, the better.10. Do I need a lawyer for a will?11. What can I do to protect someone from taking advantage of a family member that may not be fully capable of understanding whats going on? So if someone comes in and says Remember, you were going to write me a check for 1000? How can I help protect against that? Beyond taking away check books, etc.Sorry if some of these are obviouseasywhatever. Just a lot that Im having to figure out, and I have too many parties involved telling me different things that may be for their benefit. Tried seeing a lawyer, but he wanted a shit ton an hour to even initiate a conversation. Like Im ok with paying for advice, but at least let me go through the questions, and then tell me Yes, you need a lawyer for this. This service costs X. You dont need a lawyer for that, etc But he wouldnt even do that without being paid. It was extremely frustrating. Anyway, thank you for any adviceassistance you can give and for your time.  <response>: None of these are questions you ask to random unqualified strangers on the internet. Free legal advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.Find a local attorney licensed to practice in Texas, pay him for an hour of his time, and get your questions answered. 