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.
Classification of Claims
During the administration of an estate in the Harris County Probate Court the claims against the estate must be formally classified based on the rules in the Texas Probate Code. This requirement is not limited to Dependent Administration, Independent Executors as well must perform this function.
Claims against an estate in the Houston Probate Court are classified and have priority of payment, as follows:
Class 1. Funeral expenses and expenses of last sickness for a reasonable amount to be approved by the court, not to exceed a total of Fifteen Thousand Dollars, with any excess to be classified and paid as other unsecured claims.
Class 2. Expenses of administration and expenses incurred in the preservation, safekeeping, and management of the estate, including fees and expenses awarded under portions of the Probate Code, and unpaid expenses of administration awarded in a guardianship of the decedent.
Class 3. Secured claims for money under Section 306(a)(1), including tax liens, so far as the same can be paid out of the proceeds of the property subject to such mortgage or other lien, and when more than one mortgage, lien, or security interest shall exist upon the same property, they shall be paid in order of their priority.
Class 4. Claims for the principal amount of and accrued interest on
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When You Can Not Remove an Independent Executor
The case of Kappus v. Kappus demonstrates how hoping for the best is not always the best strategy. In the Kappus case, the decedent’s ex-wife and mother of one of the beneficiaries, attempted to remove an independent executor due to a conflict of interest.
The Texas Supreme Court reviewed the case and ruled
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