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Texas Probate Court


A Short Guide to Texas Probate Courts

Individuals must begin the probate process in a Texas Probate Court within four years of death, since a statute of limitations on probate exists. If individuals do not petition their county’s Texas Probate Court to open an estate by then, all the money given to them in a will is completely lost. That’s just one of the reasons it’s important to file for probate in a Texas Probate Court. Knowing more about Texas Probate Courts and the many services they can perform for you will make this procedure overall much more beneficial for you, so you should start researching today.

Filing with a Will in a Texas Probate Court

It is much simpler to navigate through a Texas Probate Court if a will was made by the deceased person prior to their death. In such a will, an executor would have been named, and that executor will be tasked with performing the orders of the will, according to the guidelines of the Texas Probate Court, but only after the Texas Probate Court serves them with Letters of Administration, making their status as executor official. In this situation, the first step would be for an individual executor to file the Decree Admitting Will to Probate.

Filing Without a Will in a Texas Probate Court

If there is no will to name an executor, the court will work with the deceased’s decedents to pick out a dependent probate administrator. This administrator will have all the duties given to an executor, but none of the independence. They won’t be able to file any official forms or perform any action with the deceased’s estate without first getting permission from the Texas Probate Court. A bond will also need to be posted to the Texas probate court. All of this oversight and judicial red-tape slows the process down dramatically.

If all the heirs of the deceased agree, then a dependent probate administrator may be waived and replaced with an independent probate administrator. The process of selection will be exactly the same, but the actual administrator will be allowed to work quicker by making more decisions without the approval of the Texas Probate Court. 

At the very same time that this is being decided up, the Texas Probate Court is also turning its attention to determining the legally viable heirs. The ramifications of this process are manifold; not only do heirs have the ability to decide whether or not to appoint an independent probate administrator, but they are more importantly the only people who will benefit from the execution of the estate. Since this is done according to Texas Probate Court procedure and not a debate regarding affection or worthiness, genetics count towards heirship in cases without wills at the expensive of all other factors.

Texas Probate Court Procedures for Small Estates

Small estates are generally considered to be those worth less than $50,000 with no real estate property. Texas Probate Courts treat small estates differently, easing procedures for them and getting money to heirs much faster. To file for small estate probate, file a Small Estates Affidavit at your county’s Texas Probate Court.

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