The Inventory
One of the first milestones to reach in the administration of an estate in Harris County is completing the Inventory of the estate. The Inventory is a list of property that the Executor or Administrator is responsible for reporting to various government authorities.
Many people forget, but there are in fact 2 versions of the Inventory that your Houston probate attorney will prepare. There is the probate Inventory which is limited to probate property, and then there is the taxable Inventory which covers all assets the deceased had an interest in which may be taxed by the government.
Here, we are going to limit our discussion to the Harris County Probate Inventory. Texas law requires that the Executor or Administrator file the completed Probate Inventory with the Harris County Probate Court within 90 days of his appointment. In some cases, the Harris County Probate Court can extend the deadline for filing the Inventory or it can shorten the deadline.
What goes on the Probate Inventory?
Texas Law requires only 2 types of property on the Probate Inventory, but one category is extremely broad.
The first category is all real property of the estate situated in the State of Texas.
The second category is all personal property of the estate wherever situated. This is a very broad category.
What information goes on the Probate Inventory files with the Harris County Probate Court?
The Executor or Administrator must put the following details on the Probate Inventory:
- a description of each piece of property, real or personal;
- the fair market value of each piece of property as of the date of death;
- what portion of the property is separate property and the portion that is community property;
- in the case of property owned with others, the interest owned by the estate as well as the names and relationships of the other co-owners.
Everything the Harris County Probate Court does concerning estate property is based on the Probate Inventory. If the Probate Inventory is wrong, then you may find yourself going through a longer and costlier process to go back and fix the mistake. Your Houston probate lawyer will prepare the Inventory for the estate and get you through the process as quickly as possible.