Distribution of Community Property
The Executor or Administrator of a Harris County Probate Estate is responsible for distributing the assets of the estate. If the deceased person was married, this distribution will likely involve distribution of the deceased’s separate property as well as distribution of community property. If the estate is intestate, the Texas Code distributes community property as follows:
(a) On the intestate death of one of the spouses, the community property estate of the deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse if:
(1) no child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse; or
(2) all surviving children and descendants of the deceased spouse are also children or descendants of the surviving spouse.
(b) On the intestate death of one of the spouses to a marriage, if a child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse and the child or descendant is not a child or descendant of the surviving spouse, one-half of the community estate is retained by the surviving spouse and the other one-half passes to the children or descendants of the deceased spouse. The descendants shall inherit only such portion of said property to which they would be entitled under Section 43 of this code. In every case, the community estate passes charged with the debts against it.
Get Legal Help
Contact a Harris County Probate Attorney if you need help with an estate in the Harris County Probate Court.
Required Notice to Secured Creditors
The Executor or Administrator of a Harris County Probate Estate has many legal obligations. One of the obligations is to notify certain creditors of the probate pending in the Harris County Probate Court. The notice to these creditors must be done as required by the Texas Probate Code.
When to Provide Notice to Secured Creditors
The Executor or Administrator of an estate shall give notice of the issuance of letters to each and every person known to the Executor or Administrator to have a claim for money against the estate of a decedent that is secured by real or personal property of the estate within two months of receiving their letters testamentary of letters of administration.
If the Executor or Administrator subsequently obtains actual knowledge of the existence of a secured creditor to whom notice was not previously given, the Executor or Administrator of the Harris County Probate Estate shall give notice to the person of the issuance of letters within a reasonable time.
Proof of Notice
A copy of each notice and a copy of the return receipt and an affidavit of the Executor or Administrator, stating that said notice was mailed as required by law, giving the name of the person to whom the notice was mailed, if not shown on the notice or receipt, shall be filed with the clerk of the Houston Probate Court.
A Harris County Probate Attorney can help you fulfill your legal obligations as the Executor or Administrator of an estate in the Harris County Probate Court.
Order of Payment of Claims
After the claims for a Houston Probate estate are classified, in what order do you pay them?
Claims in a Harris County Probate estate are paid in the following order:
(1) Funeral expenses and expenses of last sickness, in an amount not to exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars.
(2) Allowances made to the surviving spouse and children, or to either.
(3) Expenses of administration and the expenses incurred in the preservation, safekeeping, and management of the estate.
(4) Other claims against the estate in the order of their classification.
An Independent Executor can pay claims without needing to obtain the court’s approval. However, in acting without the Harris County Probate Court’s approval an Independent Executor acts at their own peril if a mistake or oversight is made. Your Houston Probate Attorney can help you make sure claims against the estate are paid properly. Anyone other than an Independent Executor can obtain the court’s approval for the order of payment for claims.
Speak with a Houston Probate Attorney today if you need assistance with a probate matter in Harris County.