Understanding Estate Inventories in Texas: A Guide for Beneficiaries

by Robert Ray | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 | Contesting Wills, Contesting wills, Duties, How to probate a case, Inheritance, Procedure, Removal, Time limits, Who is a Fiduciary

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TL;DR An inventory is a comprehensive list of all the assets of the estate and all claims against it. If an incorrect inventory is filed, you must object to it in a timely way, or it may be too late.

Understanding Estate Inventories in Texas and How to Object.

When a loved one passes away, the process of distributing their estate—the property and money they leave behind—can be both emotional and complicated. A critical part of this process is creating a list of all the things the deceased person owned, called the “Inventory, Appraisement, and List of Claims.” This list includes everything from their home and bank accounts to personal items and any debts owed to them.

But what happens if one of the people set to inherit from the estate feels that this list is incomplete or incorrect? Let’s break this down using a real case (No. 13-22-00576-CV) as an example.

What is an Estate Inventory?

When someone passes away, their estate usually goes through a legal process called probate. This process helps to manage and distribute their assets according to their will or, if there is no will, according to state law. In Texas, the person in charge of managing the estate, the executor (or executrix, if female), must file an inventory with the court. This inventory shows all the deceased’s property—like their home, bank accounts, and personal items—so that the court and beneficiaries (those named in the will) know what the estate is worth.

This inventory helps ensure transparency, ensuring the executor is fair and open about what the deceased person owns and how it will be divided among the beneficiaries.

What If the Inventory Is Wrong?

Sometimes, a beneficiary—someone supposed to inherit—might think the inventory isn’t accurate. They may believe that certain assets were left out or that the executor didn’t give some items a proper value. This is precisely what happened in the case of Dale Oretus Maun.

Case Study: Dale Oretus Maun’s Estate

Dale Oretus Maun passed away in 1985, leaving his estate to his three children: Mark, Debora, and David. Debora was appointed as the executrix and, in 1989, filed the required inventory with the probate court. However, over 30 years later, in 2021, Mark claimed that Debora didn’t disclose all the assets the estate owned and failed to report the income generated by the estate after Dale’s death. He argued that Debora didn’t divide the estate according to their father’s wishes.

Mark filed a lawsuit against Debora’s estate after her death, but the court ruled that it was too late for him to bring the claim. The court’s decision hinged on timing, which brings us to an important point—when and how you can object to an estate inventory.

How to Object to an Inventory

If you’re a beneficiary and believe the inventory the executor files is incorrect or incomplete, you can file an objection with the probate court. Here are some common reasons to file a complaint:

Assets were left out: If the executor did not include the deceased’s property, you might claim that the inventory is incomplete.
Asset values are wrong: If you think the property was valued too high or too low, it could affect what each beneficiary gets.
Income was not reported: If the estate made money after the person passed away, like from rent or interest on investments, the executor must also account for this income.

In the case of Dale Oretus Maun, Mark argued that his sister, Debora, did not include all assets, didn’t report estate income, and failed to divide the estate fairly.

Timing is Important: The Statute of Limitations

While beneficiaries have the right to object to the inventory, they must act quickly. In Texas, claims like breach of fiduciary duty (meaning the executor didn’t do their job correctly) must be filed within four years of the problem being discovered. This is called the statute of limitations.

In Mark’s case, the court found that too much time had passed. Mark knew about the missing assets and other issues long before 2021, so his lawsuit was dismissed. Even though Mark tried to argue that he couldn’t have known about the problems sooner, the court said he should have investigated earlier.

Lessons for Beneficiaries

This case teaches an important lesson: keep a close eye on the probate process and act quickly if something seems wrong. If you think the executor hasn’t listed all the assets, didn’t report income, or is not following the will, raising these issues with the probate court as soon as possible is crucial.

Deadlines are strict, and waiting too long could mean losing the chance to make sure the estate is handled fairly. Some exceptions exist to these deadlines, like if the executor hid information on purpose, but it’s always a good idea to seek legal advice early on.

Final Thoughts

Understanding Estate Inventories in Texas: Objecting to an estate inventory is a serious matter, but protecting your rights as a beneficiary is essential. Understanding the process and acting within the proper time limits is critical to ensuring that the estate is managed fairly and that you receive what you are entitled to under the will. If you think something isn’t right with how an estate is handled, consult a lawyer to discuss your options.

Share this post

If you found this information helpful, please share this post with others dealing with similar probate issues. Have questions or personal experiences with will disputes? If you’re facing a legal battle over the validity of a will, consider consulting with a legal professional specializing in probate litigation to ensure your rights are protected.

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Navigating Power of Attorney Abuse in Texas: Your Comprehensive Guide

by Robert Ray | Last updated Jul 27, 2026 | Removal, Undue Influence, Who is a Fiduciary

Power of Attorney Abuse

In Texas, entrusting someone with a power of attorney is a significant decision granting substantial control over personal affairs. However, it is common to witness instances where this privilege is misused, leading to many complications and disputes. As someone who may be grappling with the repercussions of power of attorney abuse, it is imperative to understand your legal standing and the avenues available for redress. This post aims to discuss revoking a power of attorney in Texas. You can confidently and securely steer through this challenging time when armed with the proper knowledge.

You gave the Power of Attorney.

You can revoke the power of attorney if you are the one who gave the power of attorney and are dissatisfied with the person to whom you gave it. The best way to do this is to see your attorney and have him prepare a revocation of power of attorney.

A loved one gave the Power of Attorney.

A more complex situation arises when a loved one gives a power of attorney. That is especially true when the loved one is now incompetent to handle their affairs and cannot revoke the power of attorney. What do you do in that situation? A 2023 Texas case will illustrate how that situation can be handled.

The Fort Worth Court of Appeals (02-22-00300-CV) ruled that someone other than the person who gave the Power of Attorney could ask the court to remove someone who held a power of attorney.

Facts of the case.

Trudy, who experienced “progressive mental deterioration . . . consistent with her dementia diagnosis… While still competent, Trudy executed a statutory durable power of attorney designating her daughter Linda as power of attorney.

Later, daughter Dianna moved in with Trudy and has been living rent-free in a house owned by Trudy. Dianna had prepared a quitclaim deed from Trludy to her, which Adult Protective Services later found to have involved financial exploitation.

After the deed, Dianna had Trudy execute a new power of attorney in favor of Dianna that removed Linda. Based on the Power of Attorney, Dianna took control of some of Trudy’s bank accounts, social security payments, and credit cards.

Brother Kyle filed a guardianship application and sought to be appointed Trudy’s guardian. He asked for temporary relief, claiming that Dianna had taken a significant portion of Trudy’s net worth. The allegations were that Trudy didn’t have the mental ability to change her Power of Attorney when she signed the new power of attorney in favor of Dianna. Hence, Linda, not Dianna, was the true power of attorney.

After a two-day bench trial, the probate court entered its judgment that because Dianna had “breached her fiduciary duty,” Dianna was “removed as agent in all powers of attorney for health care and all durable powers of attorney executed by” Trudy. See Tex. Est. Code Ann. § 753.001 (empowering probate court to remove agent upon finding breach of fiduciary duties owed to principal).

Appeal

Dianna appealed. She claimed that Kyle didn’t plead breach of fiduciary duty. The appeals court rebuffed that argument. Since there was no question that Dianna was a fiduciary, the burden was on her, not Kyle, to show that her actions did not breach her fiduciary duties. Additionally, the court noted that Dianna did not contest the findings of fact that she had been living rent-free in Trudy’s house and was paying the utilities with Trudy’s money—a breach of her fiduciary duty, which was sufficient to remove her as the Power of Attorney.

You can learn about guardianships here.

Definition of Guardianship

by Robert Ray | Last updated Sep 16, 2024 | Undue Influence, Who is a Fiduciary

What is Guardianship?

Some people need help managing their daily affairs because of their age, a disease or an injury. If this happens, a court of law may appoint a guardian for them.

Guardian and ward are legal terms used to indicate the relationship between someone who protects another (the guardian) and the person being protected (the ward). In Texas, the process to appoint a guardian includes:

Filing an application with a court
Having a hearing before a judge
Having a judge appoint a guardian, if one is needed

Because having a guardian takes away a person’s rights, it should be the last and the best choice to protect someone. Before asking a court to appoint a guardian, other options are usually tried first, such as:

Finding someone to help the person pay bills and manage money
Finding someone to help the person make decisions, including health care decisions
Enrolling the person in available community services, including Medicaid programs

Once a guardian is appointed, it often becomes permanent. However, if things change significantly, a judge can decide a guardian is no longer needed.

Texas Spendthrift Trust

by Robert Ray | Last updated Feb 10, 2025 | Trust, Who is a Fiduciary

What is a Texas spendthrift trust?

The Texas Property Code authorizes a Texas spendthrift trust. It is set up by the “grantor.” The trust will name one or more “beneficiaries” of the trust property. The beneficiaries will receive the trust property at a given time, i.e., reaching the age of 35. Sometimes, a trust will exist for a beneficiary’s life, with the property going to his children when he dies. A trust is administered by a trustee who may also be one of the beneficiaries. However, if the trustee and the beneficiary are the same person at any time, the trust ends.

Such trusts usually pay for the “health, support, maintenance and education” of the beneficiary to take care of the beneficiary’s needs during the existence of the trust.

Protection from creditors

A Texas spendthrift trust is a trust set up to protect the beneficiary from his creditors. For instance, there is a child who does not manage his property correctly, so he is always being sought by his creditors to pay his bills. His parents want to leave him property but are afraid that his creditors will get the property because of the mismanagement of the child.

A Texas spendthrift trust is the answer. In its most basic form, a Texas spendthrift trust provides for the child but is not available to the child’s creditors. A creditor can sue the child but cannot get to the assets of the trust.

A person cannot set up a Texas spendthrift for themselves. However, some states do allow a person to create a spendthrift trust for themselves.

Learn how to Make a Trustee Reveal the Trust Assets and his Actions.

A Power of Attorney Creates a Fiduciary Duty

by Robert Ray | Last updated Feb 10, 2025 | Liabilities, Who is a Fiduciary

A Power of Attorney Creates Fiduciary Duty

Texas courts recognize that a person with a power of attorney owes the principal (the person who gave the power of attorney) a fiduciary duty. The holder of the power of attorney owes her principal a high duty of good faith, fair dealing, honest performance, and strict accountability. When the fiduciary receives an alleged gift from the principal, the fiduciary has an extremely high burden to show that the gift was in the best interest of the principal. The courts have observed that the fiduciary relationship cast upon the profiting fiduciary the burden of showing the fairness of the transactions. By accepting both the role of fiduciary and gifts from the principal, the agent consents to have her conduct measured by a higher standard of loyalty.In one case, the fiduciary never acted under her power of attorney. Therefore, she claimed, she did not have to meet the high burden of a fiduciary to prove that the gifts she received from the principal were in the best interest of the principal. The court rejected these arguments. The court found that the holder of the power of attorney owed the principal a fiduciary duty based solely on the power of attorney whether or not it was ever exercised. This finding placed the burden on the holder to prove the transfer of the principal’s property to her was fair and in the best interest of the principal.

The violation of the duty that a holder of a power of attorney owes to the principal can result in a felony conviction. In one case, the facts were as follows: “Grace added Tyler as a signatory on her bank accounts, and executed a durable power of attorney naming Tyler as her “agent (attorney-in-fact).” The power of attorney gave Tyler power over all of Grace’s assets.” Tyler later misapplied the funds under her control by using some for her personal debts.

The criminal law in question, §32.45 of the Texas Penal Code says: “A person commits an offense if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly misapplies property he holds as a fiduciary or property of a financial institution in a manner that involves substantial risk of loss to the owner of the property or to a person for whose benefit the property is held.” Tyler claimed that she had no formal trustee relationship with Grace, and therefore a fiduciary relationship “may not have” existed. In ruling that the existence of the power of attorney alone created the fiduciary relationship, the court upheld her conviction.

Update: In a 2018 case, an appeals court upheld a decision that the person with a power of attorney breached his fiduciary duty when he withdrew funds from a bank account and put the funds in his own account. The court ruled that he converted the funds and had to return them. Conversion is the wrongful exercise of dominion and control over another’s property in denial of or inconsistent with one’s rights. “From the evidence, the trial court could have reasonably concluded that when (POA) withdrew the money from the joint account, (POA) was not acting in (principal’s) interests but was using the power of attorney to wrongfully exercise dominion and control over the money to the exclusion of, or inconsistent with, (the owner’s) rights.” No. 02-17-00138-CV. In 2019, the courts held that a person with a power of attorney who had the bank issue him a certified check that he put in his own account, breached his fiduciary duty. This was true even though the person from whom he had the power of attorney signed the check. 02-17-00138-CV.

What is a fiduciary in Texas

by Robert Ray | Last updated Jan 2, 2020 | Who is a Fiduciary

Basically, a fiduciary is someone on whom the law imposes the highest duty to act on behalf of another like an executor, administrator or trustee.

Fiduciary relationships can be formal such as partners, agents, executors, administrators, trustees, a holder of a power of attorney, etc.

Fiduciary relationships can also be imposed by law because of the relationship of the parties such as domanance by one and weakness by another, where one has gained the trust of another to handle their affairs, etc. In a 2018 case, the Court of Appeals held that a funeral home had a special relationship (fiduciary relationship) with the family concerning the handling of a body. In the case, the funeral home picked up, transported and displayed to the family the wrong body. 08-17-00151-CV.

By Robert Ray a Texas inheritance attorney. The foregoing information is general in nature and does not apply to every fact situation. If you are concerned about Texas inheritance laws, inheritance rights, probate limits, have a family inheritance dispute, a property dispute or want to know the reasons for contesting a will or protecting a will from a contest and need an inheritance lawyer, we can help. Please click on the “Contact Us” tab above and use the contact form to contact us today. We are Texas inheritance lawyers and would love to learn about your case. There is no fee for the initial consultation.

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Robert Ray is the Editor and owner of this site. Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

We handle cases throughout Texas. Our principal office is in Lantana, Texas (DFW area).

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