Compassionate Support Through a Complicated Process
If you have recently lost a loved one, you may be facing decisions you never expected to make—while still grieving. Probate can feel overwhelming, confusing, and emotionally exhausting.
At Heights Law Group, we combine personal understanding with professional experience to guide families through probate with clarity, care, and steady support. We help you handle the legal and practical responsibilities that follow a death, so you are not navigating this process alone.
Our Houston probate attorneys assist with everything from identifying assets and debts to distributing property to beneficiaries—always with the goal of making probate as smooth, efficient, and manageable as possible.
Probate is the legal process through which a Texas court:
In many cases, probate in Texas is more streamlined than in other states. However, probate can become more complicated when:
We help families understand whether probate is required, what type of probate applies, and how to move forward efficiently.
After a loved one passes away, our probate attorneys assist you by performing a thorough review of the family situation, the deceased person’s assets, and the potential for creditors, to determine the most efficient and cost-effective way to transfer the deceased person’s property to the beneficiaries or heirs. We always attempt to minimize probate court involvement, but if it becomes necessary to go through the court’s probate procedure, we will assist you in fulfilling the duties imposed on an executor or administrator by the court and Texas law.
Our probate attorneys counsel clients on probate, estate, and trust administration issues in the following areas:
Probate is the process through which a Court recognizes Decedent’s will as valid and supervises the payment of Decedent’s debts and distribution of remaining assets to named beneficiaries. If the Decedent did not leave a valid and enforceable will, his or her assets will pass according to state intestacy law.
A common misconception is that, if a person dies with a Will, there is no need for probate. Unfortunately, that is not the case. A Will does not have any validity to transfer assets until a judge issues an order stating that the Will is the valid last Will of the person who passed away. The process of going through the probate court to approve the Will and comply with the requirements of Texas law after a Will has been determined to be valid is a legal process known as “probate.”
The typical “simple” Texas probate (assuming there are no unusual issues concerning the Will) involves the following steps:
The original Will and an application to probate the Will prepared by a probate attorney is filed with the County Clerk (usually in the county where the deceased person resided).
There is a period of at least 10 days before a hearing may be held to probate the Will. This time period is required to allow anyone who wants to contest the Will to file a contest.
A probate attorney, and in certain counties, the person named as executor, must attend the court hearing during which testimony is given to prove that the Will is the valid last Will of the person who died and that the person named as executor is qualified to act.
The judge signs an order admitting the Will to probate and appointing the executor, after which the executor is issued “letters testamentary,” an official document showing that the executor has the authority to access the deceased person’s assets.
The executor needs to arrange for a “notice to creditors” to be published in a local newspaper (even if the deceased person had no creditors) announcing that anyone who has a claim against the deceased person should present it to the executor.
The executor needs to give notice to all the beneficiaries named in the Will (including charities) letting the beneficiaries know that the Will has been admitted to probate. The notice must include a copy of the Will.
The executor needs to prepare an inventory of the deceased person’s assets. This inventory must be filed with the court and made public, unless the deceased person did not have any debts, in which case an “affidavit in lieu of an inventory” may be filed with the court. In any event, the inventory must be distributed to the beneficiaries of the estate.
After the court approves the inventory filed by the Executor, the Executor’s duties to the court have been fulfilled.
After the inventory has been filed, the duties of an Executor include making sure that the deceased person’s final tax return has been filed, paying the deceased person’s debts, and distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries.
Unless all of the deceased person’s heirs agree to apply to the court for and independent administration (meaning an estate administration that is not overseen by the court), the estate of a person dying without a will (also known as dying intestate) will be supervised by a judge who will appoint an independent administrator answerable to the judge.
In most cases, the administrator will have to post a bond. In addition, the administrator will have to request the court’s permission almost every time the administrator wishes to deal with an asset of the estate, including making an investment and paying debts.
Before a distribution may be made to the deceased person’s heirs, the court will oversee a proceeding referred to as an heirship proceeding to determine the identity of the deceased person’s heirs. As part of the heirship proceeding, the court will appoint an independent probate attorney (not the attorney for the administrator of the estate) to represent the deceased person’s unknown heirs, minor heirs, and heirs who may be incapacitated and unable to enforce their own rights to the estate.
This independent attorney, known as an attorney ad litem, will investigate the deceased person’s background and will make a report to the court.
The fees for the attorney ad litem are paid for out of the deceased person’s estate.
During the heirship proceeding, two witnesses who are not heirs of the deceased person must appear in court to give testimony regarding the deceased person’s family background.
If any of the deceased person’s assets are to be distributed to a minor child or an incapacitated person, another proceeding may be necessary for a guardian to be appointed for the minor child or incapacitated person.
The typical “simple” Texas probate (assuming there are no unusual issues concerning the Will) involves the following steps:
The original Will and an application to probate the Will prepared by a probate attorney is filed with the County Clerk (usually in the county where the deceased person resided).
There is a period of at least 10 days before a hearing may be held to probate the Will. This time period is required to allow anyone who wants to contest the Will to file a contest.
A probate attorney, and in certain counties, the person named as executor, must attend the court hearing during which testimony is given to prove that the Will is the valid last Will of the person who died and that the person named as executor is qualified to act.
The judge signs an order admitting the Will to probate and appointing the executor, after which the executor is issued “letters testamentary,” an official document showing that the executor has the authority to access the deceased person’s assets.
The executor needs to arrange for a “notice to creditors” to be published in a local newspaper (even if the deceased person had no creditors) announcing that anyone who has a claim against the deceased person should present it to the executor.
The executor needs to give notice to all the beneficiaries named in the Will (including charities) letting the beneficiaries know that the Will has been admitted to probate. The notice must include a copy of the Will.
The executor needs to prepare an inventory of the deceased person’s assets. This inventory must be filed with the court and made public, unless the deceased person did not have any debts, in which case an “affidavit in lieu of an inventory” may be filed with the court. In any event, the inventory must be distributed to the beneficiaries of the estate.
After the court approves the inventory filed by the Executor, the Executor’s duties to the court have been fulfilled.
After the inventory has been filed, the duties of an Executor include making sure that the deceased person’s final tax return has been filed, paying the deceased person’s debts, and distributing the remaining assets to the beneficiaries.
There are three sets of rules for determining heirs under Texas law. One set of rules applies to unmarried individuals, another applies to the separate property of a married individual, and another applies to a married person’s community property.
A deceased unmarried person’s heirs are:
The deceased person’s children and the descendants of a predeceasing child; or if none,
The deceased person’s mother and father in equal shares; or
If only a mother or father is surviving, the deceased person’s property is divided in half and split between the surviving parent and the deceased person’s brothers and sisters and the descendants of a predeceasing sibling (or all to the siblings, and the descendants of a predeceasing sibling, if no parents survive); or
If there are no siblings or descendants of siblings, all of the deceased person’s estate passes to the surviving father or mother.
A deceased married person’s separate property passes as follows:
If a person dies leaving a surviving spouse and children, the surviving spouse receives one-third of the deceased person’s separate property that is not real estate (referred to as personal property), and the balance of the deceased person’s separate personal property passes to the deceased person’s children and their descendants. The surviving spouse is also entitled to a life estate in one-third of the real estate of the deceased person, with remainder to the children of the deceased person.
If a person dies leaving a surviving spouse and no children, the surviving spouse is entitled to all of the deceased person’s personal property, and to one-half of the deceased person’s real estate, or all of the deceased person’s real estate, if the deceased person is not survived by a father, mother, nor any surviving brothers or sisters or their descendants.
A deceased married person’s community property passes as follows:
The community property of a deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse if no descendant survives the deceased spouse, or if all surviving children and descendants of the deceased spouse are also children or descendants of the surviving spouse.
If a child of the deceased spouse is not a child of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse keeps his or her half of the community property and the deceased married person’s half of the community property passes to the children or descendants of the deceased spouse.
With careful planning during life, it is possible to create an estate plan that avoids probate. If avoiding probate is your goal, our estate planning attorneys can help you shift your assets from probate to non-probate assets. In many cases, this involves moving your assets into a revocable living trust that passes outside the probate system. In other cases, it may be possible to avoid probate through the use of payable on death accounts, transfer on death deeds, and accounts held jointly with survivorship rights. Finally, very small estates may be eligible for non-judicial administration. While many clients fear probate, we are fortunate that probate in Texas tends to be less expensive and involved than in other states. This is because Texas authorizes an independent administration, which limits the Court’s involvement in the estate. As such, the need to avoid probate is much less pressing in Texas than in other states, although trust-based planning is still an excellent way to provide for future generations, protect yourself in case of incapacity, and simplify the process of distributing out-of-state property at death.
The answer is: that depends. If you have a will that will must be probated to be recognized as the controlling document governing the distribution of the decedent’s assets. In certain situations a muniment of title can be used as a very simplified probate proceeding, however even in this situation the will must be probated, or formally recognized as valid, by the Court.
Similarly, if all assets are non-probate assets, each asset will pass by the terms of the document governing the asset itself.
If there is no will in place, probate is not required if the estate can be administered through a Small Estate Affidavit. A Small Estate Affidavit is only an option for small estate. The decedent’s estate must meet each of the following criteria:
In Texas, a will must be filed for probate within four (4) years of a person’s death.
Once you make the decision to work with the Heights Law Group, we will send you a questionnaire designed to help us determine how best to advise you. Part of this questionnaire will ask you for information like:
Do not worry. The attorneys at the Heights Law Group will guide you on what is needed to assist you with the probate process.
In Texas, if a person dies without a will (also known as dying “intestate,”) their assets will pass under the state’s laws for intestate succession, which vary depending on the decedent’s marital status and whether there are any surviving family members. If a person leaves a spouse, his or her community property will pass to the surviving spouse- but only if the decedent has no children or all the decedent’s children are also children of the surviving spouse.
What does this mean? Well, if Spouse A and Spouse B are married and have two kids together and Spouse A dies, all community property assets will transfer to Spouse B. But, if Spouse A has kids from a prior marriage, such that Spouse B is not the parent of all of Spouse A’s children, then the estate does not automatically transfer to Spouse B. Instead, deceased Spouse A’s one-half interest in the community estate will pass to his/her children.
While the Texas legislature has designed the laws of intestate succession to best mirror what they think people will want on death, we strongly advise everyone to get an estate plan that puts their actual goals into action. Your estate is the culmination of your life’s work and future legacy- be purposeful in determining what happens when you are no longer around.
In Texas, if you die without a will, the disposition of your assets depends on what family survives you.
It is extremely unlikely, but if a person dies without a will and has no surviving parents, siblings, descendants of siblings, or family on either the mother’s or father’s side of the family, then their assets will go to the State of Texas. When assets are transferred to the state, the process is known as “escheatment.”
Probate is not just a legal process—it is a human one. Having the right guidance can make a meaningful difference during an already difficult time.
If your family is facing probate, let a trusted probate attorney from Heights Law Group walk you through the process with care and clarity.
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