Texas Estates Code
The Texas Estates Code, Made Usable for Tarrant County Probate
Texas probate runs on the Estates Code, but the official statute site is hard to read and harder to act on. We are republishing the chapters that actually come up in a Tarrant County probate, each in plain English, anchored to how it works in the county's two statutory probate courts, and paired with a tool where one helps. The statutory text is public record; the plain-English notes, local guidance, and tools are ours.
Ways an Estate Is Administered
The two paths a full probate can take in the Tarrant County probate courts, and how much court supervision each one carries.
Independent Administration
The streamlined, minimally supervised path used in most Tarrant County estates. Includes an eligibility checker.
Read the guide →Dependent (Court-Supervised) Administration
When the court supervises each step: permission to pay debts, sell property, and distribute. Required when independent administration is not available. Includes a which-path guide.
Read the guide →Alternatives to a Full Administration
Shorter procedures that can settle an estate, or clear title to a house, without opening a full administration, when the facts qualify.
Muniment of Title
Probate a will purely to transfer title, with no administration, when there are no unpaid debts other than liens on real estate. Includes a qualifier tool.
Read the guide →Small Estate Affidavit
A sworn alternative to probate for smaller estates with no will, within the $75,000 limit and other conditions. Includes a qualifier tool.
Read the guide →Affidavit of Heirship
A recorded affidavit that establishes heirs to clear title to real property, outside a court proceeding. Includes a which-tool guide.
Read the guide →Wills, Heirs, and Who Inherits
How a will is admitted, how the court decides who the heirs are, and how Texas law distributes an estate when there is no will.
Probate of Wills
How a will is admitted to probate in Tarrant County, who may apply, the four-year deadline, and what the application must contain. Includes a next-step tool.
Read the guide →Determination of Heirship
The proceeding that decides who a person’s heirs are when there is no will, a required step before an intestate independent administration. Includes a decision guide.
Read the guide →Descent and Distribution
Who inherits when someone dies without a will. Includes an interactive descent and distribution chart.
Read the guide →About the Texas Estates Code
The Texas Estates Code is the statute that governs wills, probate, estate administration, and guardianship in Texas. It took effect on January 1, 2014, replacing the former Texas Probate Code, and is maintained by the Texas Legislative Council. In a Tarrant County probate, the Estates Code sets the deadlines, the filing requirements, and the powers and duties of the person administering the estate, all of which play out in front of one of the county's two statutory probate courts.
Because it is a public act of the Legislature, the text of the Estates Code is in the public domain, and anyone may republish it. Reading the raw statute is one thing; knowing how a given section actually operates in a Tarrant County case is another. That gap is what these guides are for. You can always read the complete official text on the Texas Legislature site.
These guides are general legal information, not legal advice, and reading them does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about a specific estate, talk to a probate attorney.
Attorney Advertising. The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, contact us for guidance specific to your situation. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.