Title ES, Estates Code

Sec. 256.151. GENERAL PROOF REQUIREMENTS. An applicant for the probate of a will must prove to the court's satisfaction that: (1) the testator is dead; (2) four years have not elapsed since the date of the testator's death and before the application; (3) the court has jurisdictio…

Sec. 256.152. ADDITIONAL PROOF REQUIRED FOR PROBATE OF WILL. (a) An applicant for the probate of a will must prove the following to the court's satisfaction, in addition to the proof required by Section 256.151, to obtain the probate: (1) the testator did not revoke the will; and…

Sec. 256.153. PROOF OF EXECUTION OF ATTESTED WILL. (a) An attested will produced in court that is not self-proved as provided by this title may be proved in the manner provided by this section. (b) A will described by Subsection (a) may be proved by the sworn testimony or affidav…

Sec. 256.154. PROOF OF EXECUTION OF HOLOGRAPHIC WILL. (a) A will wholly in the handwriting of the testator that is not self-proved as provided by this title may be proved by two witnesses to the testator's handwriting. The evidence may be by: (1) sworn testimony or affidavit take…

Sec. 256.155. PROCEDURES FOR DEPOSITIONS WHEN NO CONTEST IS FILED. (a) This section, rather than Sections 256.153(c) and (d) and 256.154 regarding the taking of depositions, applies if no contest has been filed with respect to an application for the probate of a will. (b) Deposit…

Sec. 256.156. PROOF OF WILL NOT PRODUCED IN COURT. (a) A will that cannot be produced in court must be proved in the same manner as provided in Section 256.153 for an attested will or Section 256.154 for a holographic will, as applicable. The same amount and character of testimon…

Sec. 256.157. TESTIMONY REGARDING PROBATE TO BE COMMITTED TO WRITING. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), all testimony taken in open court on the hearing of an application to probate a will must be: (1) committed to writing at the time the testimony is taken; (2) subscribe…

Sec. 256.201. ADMISSION OF WILL TO PROBATE. If the court is satisfied on the completion of hearing an application for the probate of a will that the will should be admitted to probate, the court shall enter an order admitting the will to probate. Certified copies of the will and …

Sec. 256.202. CUSTODY OF PROBATED WILL. An original will, or a paper copy of a will proved under Section 256.156, and the probate of the will shall be deposited in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the will was probated. The will and probate of the will shall …

Sec. 256.203. ESTABLISHING CONTENTS OF WILL NOT IN COURT'S CUSTODY. If for any reason a will is not in the court's custody, the court shall find the contents of the will by written order. Certified copies of the contents as established by the order may be: (1) recorded in other c…

Sec. 256.204. PERIOD FOR CONTEST. (a) After a will is admitted to probate, an interested person may commence a suit to contest the validity thereof not later than the second anniversary of the date the will was admitted to probate, except that an interested person may commence a …

Sec. 257.001. PROBATE OF WILL AS MUNIMENT OF TITLE AUTHORIZED. A court may admit a will to probate as a muniment of title if the court is satisfied that the will should be admitted to probate and the court: (1) is satisfied that the testator's estate does not owe an unpaid debt, …

Sec. 257.051. CONTENTS OF APPLICATION GENERALLY. (a) An application for the probate of a will as a muniment of title must state and aver the following to the extent each is known to the applicant or can, with reasonable diligence, be ascertained by the applicant: (1) each applica…

Sec. 257.052. FILING OF WILL WITH APPLICATION GENERALLY REQUIRED. (a) An applicant for the probate of a will as a muniment of title shall file the will with the application if the will is in the applicant's control. (b) A will filed under Subsection (a) must remain in the custody…

Sec. 257.053. ADDITIONAL APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS WHEN NO WILL IS PRODUCED. In addition to the requirements for an application under Section 257.051, if an applicant for the probate of a will as a muniment of title cannot produce the will in court, the application must state: (1)…

Sec. 257.054. PROOF REQUIRED. An applicant for the probate of a will as a muniment of title must prove to the court's satisfaction that: (1) the testator is dead; (2) four years have not elapsed since the date of the testator's death and before the application; (3) the court has …

Sec. 257.101. DECLARATORY JUDGMENT CONSTRUING WILL. (a) On application and notice as provided by Chapter 37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, the court may hear evidence and include in an order probating a will as a muniment of title a declaratory judgment: (1) construing the wi…

Sec. 257.102. AUTHORITY OF CERTAIN PERSONS ACTING IN ACCORDANCE WITH ORDER. (a) An order admitting a will to probate as a muniment of title constitutes sufficient legal authority for each person who owes money to the testator's estate, has custody of property, acts as registrar o…

Sec. 257.103. REPORT BY APPLICANT AFTER PROBATE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), not later than the 180th day after the date a will is admitted to probate as a muniment of title, the applicant for the probate of the will shall file with the court clerk a sworn affidavit…

Sec. 257.151. APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND OPENING OF ADMINISTRATION AFTER WILL ADMITTED TO PROBATE AS MUNIMENT OF TITLE. A court order admitting a will to probate as a muniment of title under this chapter does not preclude the subsequent appointment of a personal r…

Sec. 257.152. COMPUTATION OF CERTAIN PERIODS. If a personal representative is appointed for a testator's estate after the testator's will has been admitted to probate as a muniment of title, the periods prescribed by the following sections begin to run from the date of qualificat…

Sec. 258.001. CITATION ON APPLICATION FOR PROBATE OF WILL PRODUCED IN COURT. (a) On the filing with the clerk of an application for the probate of a written will produced in court, the clerk shall issue a citation to all parties interested in the estate. (b) The citation required…

Sec. 258.002. CITATION ON APPLICATION FOR PROBATE OF WILL NOT PRODUCED IN COURT. (a) On the filing of an application for the probate of a written will that cannot be produced in court, the clerk shall issue a citation to all parties interested in the estate. The citation must: (1…

Sec. 258.003. COURT ACTION PROHIBITED BEFORE SERVICE OF CITATION. A court may not act on an application for the probate of a will until service of citation has been made in the manner provided by this subchapter. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 2502), Sec. 1, e…

Sec. 258.051. NOTICE TO HEIRS. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an applicant for the probate of a will under Section 256.003(a) must give notice by service of process to each of the testator's heirs whose address can be ascertained by the applicant with reasonable dilige…

Sec. 258.052. APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY AD LITEM. If an applicant described by Section 258.051(a) cannot, with reasonable diligence, ascertain the address of any of the testator's heirs, the court shall appoint an attorney ad litem to protect the interests of the testator's unknown…

Sec. 258.053. PREVIOUSLY PROBATED WILL. With respect to an application under Section 256.003(a) for the probate of a will of a testator who has had another will admitted to probate, this subchapter applies so as to require notice to the beneficiaries of the testator's probated wi…

Sec. 258.101. SERVICE BY PUBLICATION OR OTHER SUBSTITUTED SERVICE. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if an attempt to make service under this chapter is unsuccessful, service may be made in the manner provided by Rule 109 or 109a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure…

Sec. 301.001. ADMINISTRATION BEFORE DEATH VOID. The administration of an estate of a living person is void. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 2502), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2014.

Sec. 301.002. PERIOD FOR FILING APPLICATION FOR LETTERS TESTAMENTARY OR OF ADMINISTRATION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) and Section 501.006 with respect to a foreign will, an application for the grant of letters testamentary or of administration of an estate must be f…

Sec. 301.051. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS FOR LETTERS. An executor named in a will, an administrator designated as authorized under Section 254.006, an independent administrator designated by all of the distributees of the decedent under Section 401.002(b) or 401.003, or an interested pe…

Sec. 301.052. CONTENTS OF APPLICATION FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION. (a) An application for letters of administration when no will is alleged to exist must state: (1) the applicant's name, domicile, and, if any, relationship to the decedent; (1-a) the last three numbers of: (A) t…

Sec. 301.101. OPPOSITION TO APPLICATION FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION. An interested person may, at any time before an application for letters of administration is granted, file an opposition to the application in writing and may apply for the grant of letters to the interested p…

Sec. 301.151. GENERAL PROOF REQUIREMENTS. An applicant for the issuance of letters testamentary or of administration of an estate must prove to the court's satisfaction that: (1) the person whose estate is the subject of the application is dead; (2) except as provided by Sections…

Sec. 301.152. ADDITIONAL PROOF REQUIRED FOR LETTERS TESTAMENTARY. If letters testamentary are to be granted, it must appear to the court that: (1) the proof required for the probate of the will has been made; and (2) the person to whom the letters are to be granted is named as ex…

Sec. 301.153. ADDITIONAL PROOF REQUIRED FOR LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION; EFFECT OF FINDING NO NECESSITY FOR ADMINISTRATION EXISTS. (a) If letters of administration are to be granted, the applicant for the letters must prove to the court's satisfaction that a necessity for an admini…

Sec. 301.154. PROOF REQUIRED WHEN LETTERS HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN GRANTED. If letters testamentary or of administration have previously been granted with respect to an estate, an applicant for the granting of subsequent letters must show only that the person for whom the letters are…

Sec. 301.155. AUTHORIZED METHODS OF PROOF. A fact contained in an application for issuance of letters testamentary or of administration or any other fact required to be proved by this subchapter may be proved by the sworn testimony of a witness with personal knowledge of the fact…

Sec. 301.201. METHOD OF PREVENTING ADMINISTRATION REQUESTED BY CREDITOR. (a) If a creditor files an application for letters of administration of an estate, another interested person who does not desire the administration can defeat the application by: (1) paying the creditor's cl…

Sec. 301.202. SUIT ON BOND. Any creditor for whose protection a bond is executed under Section 301.201(a)(3) may sue on the bond in the creditor's own name to recover the creditor's claim. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 2502), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2014.

Sec. 301.203. BOND SECURED BY LIEN. If a bond is executed and approved under Section 301.201(a)(3), a lien exists on all of the estate in the possession of the distributees, and those claiming under the distributees with notice of the lien, to secure the ultimate payment of the b…

Sec. 303.001. CITATION ON APPLICATION FOR ISSUANCE OF LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION. (a) On the filing with the clerk of an application for letters of administration, the clerk shall issue a citation to all parties interested in the estate. (b) The citation required by Subsection (a)…

Sec. 303.002. COURT ACTION PROHIBITED BEFORE SERVICE OF CITATION. A court may not act on an application for the issuance of letters of administration until service of citation has been made in the manner provided by this chapter. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B.…

Sec. 304.001. ORDER OF PERSONS QUALIFIED TO SERVE AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE. (a) The court shall grant letters testamentary or of administration to persons qualified to act, in the following order: (1) the person named as executor in the decedent's will; (1-a) the person designa…

Sec. 304.002. RENOUNCING RIGHT TO SERVE AS PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE. A decedent's surviving spouse, or, if there is no surviving spouse, the heirs or any one of the heirs of the decedent to the exclusion of any person not equally entitled to letters testamentary or of administrati…

Sec. 304.003. PERSONS DISQUALIFIED TO SERVE AS EXECUTOR OR ADMINISTRATOR. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person is not qualified to serve as an executor or administrator if the person is: (1) incapacitated; (2) a felon convicted under the laws of the United States or…