Probate proceedings in Texas often begin with family members of the deceased individual submitting a will or estate plan to the courts. Unfortunately, not all adults with valuable assets or dependent family members take the time to establish an estate plan before they die.
Occasionally, families realize that there are no testamentary documents. They have to initiate probate proceedings without a will. Doing so can leave people feeling very uncertain about their rights and what happens to the property of the person who recently died.
An estate without a will or other testamentary documents is an intestate estate. Texas has special statutes outlining what happens during intestate probate proceedings. What happens if someone dies without a will or other estate planning documents?
The law favors immediate family members
Intestate succession laws aim to help the surviving family members of the deceased by protecting their right of inheritance. When someone does not have a will naming specific people as their beneficiaries, their immediate family members become their heirs. Intestate succession laws in Texas specifically protect the interests of spouses and children.
Typically, married individuals can expect to inherit a reasonable portion of the property from the estate of their spouse. Whether or not they have children influences how much of the estate they inherit. Biological parents who share children with the deceased typically inherit more of the estate than stepparents who are not legally or biologically the parent of the deceased spouse’s children.
In cases where the decedent has children but no spouse, their children typically inherit everything from the estate. It is worth noting that adopted children and half siblings typically have the same rights as any other progeny who survived the deceased.
Parents can inherit from estates when there are no children or surviving spouses. State law also allows siblings, nieces and nephews to inherit when there are no surviving parents. In rare cases where the state cannot locate any surviving family members to inherit from the estate, the assets may eventually become the property of the state itself.
Intestate probate proceedings can sometimes become complicated as unexpected heirs turn up to request their share of the estate. Probate proceedings without a will can often take a year or longer to fully finalize.
Learning about what to expect during the probate process as a personal representative or heir with an interest in an estate with no testamentary documents is beneficial. Families can minimize conflict if they have realistic expectations about the probate process.
