Texas Probate Forms and Procedures

by Keith Branyon

Effective, efficient probate administration

A timesaving combination of forms and law from one of Texas’ top practitioners.

Keith Branyon’s new formbook will help you deal with the ever-increasing pressures to do more in less time.

Texas Probate Forms and Procedures provides forms, tips, and law to improve your effectiveness and efficiency in everything from engagement and administration to creditors and contested matters. For example, you receive:

Initial representation

• A compact probate questionnaire which balances informational needs with client convenience.  Form 1-1
• Engagement letter, with 11 practice-proven alternate clauses.  Form 1-2
• Covering funeral and burial expenses with an application for emergency intervention.  Form 3-1
• Motion for authority regarding safe deposit box.  Form 3-4
• Application to compel delivery of will.  Form 3-5
• Application for executor’s fee.  Form 4-5

Temporary administration

• Application to appoint temporary administrator, with verification and affidavit.  Form 6-1
• Inventory, appraisement, and list of claims.  Form 6-7
• Final report of the temporary administrator, with order.  Form 6-8

Independent administration

• Application for probate of will and issuance of letters testamentary.  Form 7-2
• Application for probate if will is missing.  Form 7-3
• Application for probate if will fails to make executor independent.  Form 7-4
• Beneficiaries’ waiver of citation.  Form 7-6
• Application to determine heirship.  Form 7-7
• Affidavit of proof of death, handwriting, and more.  Form 7-8 to 7-13
• Orders admitting will to probate.  Forms 7-14 and 15
• -- Judgment declaring heirship.  Form 7-16
• Letters to independent personal representative regarding duties.  Forms 7-20
• Letters to decedent’s bank, brokerage, and insurer.  Forms 7-33 to 7-35

Dependent administration

• Applications for probate of will.  Forms 8-3 to 8-5
• Application for letters of dependent administration.  Form 8-6
• Affidavits.  Forms 8-7 to 8-12
• Orders admitting will to probate.  Forms 8-13 and 14
• Order authorizing letters of dependent administration.  Form 8-15
• Letter to dependent personal representative regarding duties.  Form 8-19
• Order of sale of real property, with addendum and decree.  Forms 8-40 to 8-43
• Account for final settlement, with order approving and waiver of citation.  Forms 8-46 to 8-48

Creditors

• Permissive letter notice to unsecured creditors.  Form 12-3
• Chart of notices and subsequent deadlines and actions.  Form 12-4
• Claim for money.  Form 12-5
• Suggested language for the order approving the final account, including clarification of the bar of claims of unsecured creditors to whom permissive notice was provided.  Form 12-11

Foreign wills

• Applications for probate of foreign will.  Forms 13-1 and 13-2
• Waiver of citation and consent to independent administration.  Form 13-3
• Order admitting foreign will to probate.  Form 13-6

Tax considerations

• Two letters for independent and dependent personal representatives outlining tax issues and listing duties.  Forms 14-1 and 14-2

Contested matters

• Individual and corporate trustees’ motions to transfer venue.  Forms 15-3 and 15-4
• Jury charges and questions.  Form 15-7
• Motion in limine (21 issues).  Form 15-9

Includes a Law-and-Procedure Outline

200 of Texas Probate Forms and Procedures’ 475 pages are devoted to a summary of the law and procedure governing use of the book’s forms. The summary is well-supported with case and code citations, and will help you with potentially-troublesome issues like time limits for filing creditor claims, deductible expenses, and tax concerns. The outline includes discussions of:

• Selecting the appropriate proceeding, with flow chart.  §2:01
• Feuding beneficiaries, difficult assets.  §2:30
• Seeking emergency intervention.  §3:02
• Obtaining access to safe deposit box.  §3:11
• Forcing production of will.  §3:20

Personal representative

• The dollar commission a personal representative can receive.  §4:30
• Obtaining reimbursement for executor’s expenses.  §4:31
• Scope of the prudent man requirement.  §4:40
• What a dependent representative can and cannot do without a court order.  §4:42

Temporary administration

• Content required of an application for temporary administration, with form.  §6:10
• Common error in affidavits.  §6:11
• Contesting the appointment.  §6:18

Independent administration

• Preparing the application, with form.  §7:10
• Application when original will has been lost, with form.  §7:13
• Independent administration when decedent died intestate, with waiver and application.  §7:15
• When personal service is required.  §7:21
• Skip the elaborate hearing script for self-proved wills.  What you need to ask.  §7:30
• Testimony needed when will is lost.  §7:31
• Steps to take when a bond is required.  §7:44
• Independent personal representative’s duties, with explanatory letter.  §7:50
• Requirements of notice to beneficiaries, with form notice and waiver. §7:61
• Dealing with unsecured creditors.  §7:64
• How to find historical stock price information.  §7:73
• When real estate appraisals are required.  §7:75
• When an independent executor must involve the court in closing.  §7:110

Muniment of title

• When appropriate, and problematic issues.  §9:02
• When a waiver and consent is advisable.  §9:04
• Two differences in the application for a muniment of title.  §9:10
• Dealing with real property.  §9:30
• When courts will waive a compliance affidavit.  §9:31

Determination of heirship

• When appropriate.  §10:02
• Necessary information on application, with form.  §10:10
• Drafting the judgment, with form.  §10:30
• How title to separate property passes.  §10:31
• Choosing between judicial and non-judicial methods.  §10:42

Creditors

• When a dependent administration is advisable.  §12:01
• Tolling the statute of limitations in an independent administration.  §12:21
• Obtaining a bond to protect creditors.  §12:40
• Permissive notice to unsecured creditors.  §12:42
• The frequently-confusing time limits for filing claims.  §12:51
• Required supporting documents for claims of money.  §12:52
• “Matured secured claim” vs. “preferred debt and lien.”  §12:53
• Responding to a claim rejection.  §12:58
• Forcing payment of claims.  §12:71
• Filing a claim against the personal representative.  §12:74

Foreign wills

• Authenticating a foreign will.  §13:10
• Dealing with foreign wills that lack language customary in Texas.  §13:11
• Executor issues.  §13:12
• Obtaining letters testamentary.  §13:13
• The easiest way to handle the will of a person who died in a foreign jurisdiction.  §13:20

Contested matters

• Locking in a certain judge or court.  §15:02
• Elements of testamentary capacity.  §15:12
• Proof of undue influence.  §15:13
• Required execution formalities.  §15:16
• Guidelines regarding standing in probate actions.  §15:34
• How to challenge standing.  §15:40

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