Expediting probate process

mrfredmor_65 · 5 January at 1:07PM

My 85YO FIL died in Nov. after a two-year battle with cancer. his 69YO wife of 41 years is also battling aggressive cancer for the past year; she had no children of her own. she is the named executrix to his estate (including a primary residence on 200 acres in Walker County, Texas valued at $4.2M.)

In his will, which was written in 2016 around the time of acquiring their primary residence, he left my 58YO wife the sum of $200K. he also left her brother, who has since died, an equal amount with the stipulation that should he die that amount reverts to the residual estate. his will makes no provision for our two daughters, aged 24YO and 20YO.

in the event his wife preceeded him in death, the will stipulated that the estate goes to her brother (approx. 72YO) and subsequently to his children. no trusts were stipulated in the will and no other provisions were evident.

unrelated to his will, he endowed a 529 college fund for our younger daughter who is currently in her third-year of college; there currently exists a balance in this account of approx. $20K. she is the named beneficiary of this account but not the account owner.

given the fact that the entirety of the estate was willed to his wife, with the exception of the $200k to his daughter, we do not believe any motivation exists for the executrix to distribute this inheritance in a timely manner.

here are my questions:

what would be a reasonable amount of time to expect this inheritance to be paid out, given the fact that we have a reasonable expectation that cash assets exist to satisfy this inheritance?

given that our daughter is the named beneficiary of the 529 account, the probate process creates a financial burden on us to continue paying her tuition. is there a way to expedite the probate process in order to allow access to the funds for this beneficiary?