Relating to authorizing a beneficiary designation that transfers a manufactured home classified as personal property at the owner's death.

Manufactured-home inheritance option comes with deadlines

Beginning September 1, 2025, Texas owners of manufactured homes classified as personal property can name beneficiaries to inherit without probate. Owners must submit a new ownership-statement application listing each beneficiary’s legal name before death. Owners can change or cancel the designation during life without beneficiaries’ consent; a will cannot override it. Beneficiaries gain no ownership rights during the owner’s life, and owners keep control of the home. The designation does not affect the owner’s creditors or public-assistance eligibility while alive. Joint owners with survivorship rights must act together, though the last surviving owner can change or cancel the designation. Transfer occurs after the last surviving owner dies. Beneficiaries must outlive the owner by 120 hours; otherwise, rules governing gifts under wills determine where the share goes. Beneficiaries can also refuse their inheritance under state disclaimer rules. The beneficiary, or all beneficiaries together, must submit an ownership application and satisfactory proof of death within 365 days. Missing that deadline voids the designation. The department must complete a timely requested transfer within 365 days after death. Designations, changes, and cancellations must be submitted before the relevant owner’s death. Mailed submissions require certified or registered mail with return receipt requested; the postmark counts as the submission date. Inherited homes remain subject to existing liens, contracts, and other interests. Lenders keep collection rights, and applicable creditor-claim, exemption, and family-allowance rules still apply.