death without a will

My father has recently passed away. There was no will. He has 4 kids, we have all been estranged from him for over 10 years. His eldest brother has been helping him out throughout the years and has been the sole contact within the family for him. I understand that without a will it will be sent to probate court. My uncle at the funeral had given my sister and I all of his personal belongings he gathered from his place. It's all bills and court documents...pretty much anything that needs to be sorted out. We didn't realize he was going to drop all this on us. We don't want to be the ones responsible for his personal matters. We haven't been in his life for over a decade. We don't want to be the ones appointed responsible for his estate. What actions do I need to do if any to make sure we are not responsible for this?

I need to know the laws in the state of Texas regarding judgements. Can they garnish the bank account of your company, if you own a company. If you are the sole owner of the company can they garnish your personal bank accounts. If you win a legal settlement and are going to receive money, can they take that money.

Thanks

How should I answer the criminal history question on an employment application?

I am attempting to apply for a job with a university, the following question was on the application. "Have you been convicted of, pleaded no contest to, or had an adjudication of guilt withheld for a felony or first-degree misdemeanor? If yes disclose details."

How should I answer this question? If I am required to answer yes, then what of the below must I disclose?

In the State of Florida:

In 1998 I was arrested for two felony charges. I pled NOT GUILTY. The case against me was later dropped and my co-defendants were charged. My records show a disposition of NOLLE PROSSED.

In 2001 I was arrested for felony DUI. I pled NO CONTEST. I believe the result was ADJUDICATION WITHHELD to a lesser charge of misdemeanor wreckless driving. Oddly no record of this case exists.

I found the information above via a free search on hillsborough county clerk of court website.

I also checked traffic citations and found nothing, although the traffic search may only be for un-adressed citations.

All of the above charges show up as arrests on the sherrif's office records website.

Thanks, RM

Child Visitations

I have sole physical care, custody and control of my 10 and 14 year old children. Their father only asks to see them during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and doesn't bother the rest of the year, but does see them when they are visiting his mother. He has had--name removed--DUI, assault charges against him and he and his live-in girlfriend drink and argue most of their time together. My children refuse to visit my ex, claiming that they don't like the drinking and also because of his girlfriend and her children. --name removed--Protective order filed prior to our divorce stated that we restrained from using drugs and alcohol prior to and during visitation. Can I be forced to make the children visit him? Can I also keep them from visiting their grandmother if she is drinking? When my children told their father reasons why they did not want to visit him, he yelled at them and called them names. My children also want to legally change their last name to my maiden name. Do they still need his permission to do this?