Who are the heirs in Texas?

Robert Ray

The best place to start to learn about inheritance is on our inheritance start page. You can then come back to this page.

A person is allowed to make a will and leave his estate to whomever he wants. It doesn’t make any difference if he has a wife and children, he can leave his estate to a Las Vegas Showgirl if that is what he wants to do. However, when he makes his will he must be of sound mind and have the mental capacity to make a will, not be under undue influence and intend to make a will when he signs the document.

If he doesn’t make a will before he dies, he dies intestate. He also dies intestate if the will that he makes is contested and not admitted to probate. If there is a forged will, he dies intestate. Finally, if he does not mention all of his property in a will, he dies intestate with regard to the property not mentioned. This might happen when he gives his house to someone but no mention is made of the contents of the house. In all of these cases, his estate passes to his heirs as determined by law.

There are a number of different categories of heirs recognized under the law. Being an heir is important because heirs inherit if a person doesn’t make a will or the will is contested and not admitted to probate or if a portion of the will is not upheld by the court. In each of these situations, the property in question will go the person’s heirs.

The several categories of heirs are:

  1. Spouses – ceremonial and common-law spouses;
  2. Children – natural-born, adopted, adopted by estoppel and equitably adopted;
  3. Parents;
  4. Bothers and Sisters;
  5. Aunts and Uncles; and
  6. Nieces and Nephews.

UPDATES

There are new cases all the time that clarify or change the law on inheritance disputes. Keep up-to-date by subscribing to our blog.

'

Subscribe

Recent Posts

Difference between annulment and divorce in Texas

Difference between annulment and divorce in Texas

What is the difference between annulment and divorce? A divorce is a court order that ends a marriage. An annulment is a court order that the marriage never existed. An annulment can only be ordered based on limited circumstances like fraud, duress, or force as well...

Can Parents, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Nieces and Nephews Inherit?

In Texas Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and others are heirs for the purpose of distributing the estate of the deceased if he died intestate and if the deceased had no spouse or children. Even if the deceased had a spouse but no children, the other...

Who Inherits Under the Texas Laws of Inheritance

The laws of inheritance determine who inherits in the following situations: A person dies intestate (without a valid will;) A person has a valid will but for some reason, usually a mistake or the death of a beneficiary, the will does not dispose of all of the property...

The Author

Robert Ray

Robert Ray handles inheritance disputes of all kinds. He takes cases throughout Texas.
© Copyright 2023 | All Rights Reserved.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This