Recursos en Español - Spanish Language Legal Resources

The Harris County Law Library has created several research guides on a number of popular legal research topics such as family law, labor and employment, real estate law, and civil and criminal litigation. Our newest guide, now available in the Law Library and on the Law Library's website, is the Spanish Language Resources Research Guide.

Provided is a directory of Spanish language materials in the Law Library's print collection as well as links to digital resources available online. Topics covered are immigration, wills and estates, landlord/tenant, family law, consumer law, and criminal law. Community legal resources are also included along with general reference guides on the legal system in Texas.

If you have any questions about accessing these resources or about finding Spanish language legal services in the Greater Houston area, please speak with a member of the Law Library's reference staff. 

 

 

Access to Justice – Transfer on Death Deed

Chapter 114 of the Texas Estates Code authorizes an owner of real property to designate a beneficiary to whom that property will pass upon the owner’s death. This process alleviates the expense that the beneficiary would otherwise have had to bear if the property had passed through the probate process. This alternative to probate is called a transfer on death deed. Executed by the property owner during his lifetime, the deed is a non-testamentary instrument that is freely revocable should the property owner change his mind regarding the primary or alternate beneficiaries named in the deed. To be effective, the transfer on death deed must state that the transfer of real property is to occur at the property owner’s death and must be recorded with the county clerk in the county in which the property is located prior to the death of the transferor. Once the deed is in effect, a will may not supersede the validly executed deed. In other words, if a will names a different individual as beneficiary, the property will go to the individual designated in the transfer on death deed, not the one named in the will.

TexasLawHelp.org has a packet on its website with information about and instructions and forms for the transfer on death deeds. There are links to forms and instructions for property owners who want to transfer real property using the transfer on death deed, for property owners who want to revoke a prior transfer on death deed, and for beneficiaries who want to know what needs to be done to acquire title to the property named in the deed.

There are more alternatives to probate that have been proposed. There are two bills before the current legislative session (SB 869 and HB 1753) that, if passed, would enable an owner to transfer his interest in a vehicle to a designated beneficiary, thereby allowing the vehicle to pass outside of probate. The Texas Access to Justice Commission, one of the champions of the need for low-income Texans to have equal access to the civil judicial system, is supporting this legislation.

A Look Back at Brown v. Board of Education on the 63rd Anniversary

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation was unconstitutional and that permitting "separate but equal" treatment for black students in public schools was a violation of federal civil rights laws. 

"We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the actions have been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."

This year's Law Day theme is The 14th Amendment: Transforming American Democracy, so today, on the 63rd anniversary of this historic case, it's appropriate to remember Brown v Board of Education and the impact it's had on shaping the civil rights effort from 1954 to this day.