Sections
Chapter 301 Application for Letters Testamentary or of Administration 301.001 – 301.203
Chapter 303 Citations and Notices in General On Opening of Administration 303.001 – 303.002
Chapter 304 Persons Who May Serve as Personal Representatives 304.001 – 304.003
Chapter 305 Qualification of Personal Representatives 305.001 – 305.257
Chapter 306 Granting and 306.001 – 306.007
Chapter 307 Validity of Certain Acts of Executors and Administrators 307.001 – 307.002
Chapter 308 Notice to Beneficiaries and Claimants 308.001 – 308.056
Chapter 309 Inventory, Appraisement, and List of Claims 309.001 – 309.151
Chapter 310 Allocation of Estate Income and Expenses 310.001 – 310.006
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Terms Used In Texas Estates Code > Title 2 > Subtitle G - Initial Appointment of Personal Representative and Opening of Administration

  • Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
  • Alcoholic beverage: means alcohol, or any beverage containing more than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume, which is capable of use for beverage purposes, either alone or when diluted. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Alternating brewery proprietorship: means an arrangement in which two or more parties take turns using the physical premises of a brewery as permitted under this code and federal law. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Applicant: means a person who submits or files an original or renewal application with the commission for a license or permit. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Brewer: means a person engaged in the brewing of malt beverages, whether located inside or outside the state. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Charitable organization: means :
    (1) a nonprofit corporation, trust, community chest, fund, foundation, or other entity that is:
    (A) exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being described by Section 501(c)(3) of that code; and
    (B) organized and operated exclusively for:
    (i) religious, charitable, scientific, educational, or literary purposes;
    (ii) testing for public safety;
    (iii) preventing cruelty to children or animals; or
    (iv) promoting amateur sports competition; or
    (2) any other entity that is organized and operated exclusively for the purposes listed in Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986. See Texas Estates Code 22.003
  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • Child: includes an adopted child, regardless of whether the adoption occurred through:
    (1) an existing or former statutory procedure; or
    (2) an equitable adoption or acts of estoppel. See Texas Estates Code 22.004
  • Civil commitment facility: means a facility owned, leased, or operated by the state, or by a vendor under contract with the state, that houses only persons who have been civilly committed as sexually violent predators under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Claims: includes :
    (1) liabilities of a decedent that survive the decedent's death, including taxes, regardless of whether the liabilities arise in contract or tort or otherwise;
    (2) funeral expenses;
    (3) the expense of a tombstone;
    (4) expenses of administration;
    (5) estate and inheritance taxes; and
    (6) debts due such estates. See Texas Estates Code 22.005
  • Commission: means the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Common disaster: A sudden and extraordinary misfortune that brings about the simultaneous or near-simultaneous deaths of two or more associated persons, such as husband and wife.
  • Controlled substance: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Correctional facility: means a place designated by law for the confinement of a person arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Court: means and includes:
    (1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
    (2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise original probate jurisdiction; and
    (3) a district court exercising original probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.007
  • Criminal negligence: has the meaning assigned by § 6. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Deadly weapon: means :
    (A) a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or
    (B) anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Death: includes , for an individual who is an unborn child, the failure to be born alive. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Department: means the Department of Agriculture. See Texas Agriculture Code 1.003
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Devisee: includes a legatee. See Texas Estates Code 22.009
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Distilled spirits: means alcohol, spirits of wine, whiskey, rum, brandy, gin, or any liquor produced in whole or in part by the process of distillation, including all dilutions or mixtures of them, and includes spirit coolers that may have an alcoholic content as low as four percent alcohol by volume and that contain plain, sparkling, or carbonated water and may also contain one or more natural or artificial blending or flavoring ingredients. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Distributee: means a person who is entitled to a part of the estate of a decedent under a lawful will or the statutes of descent and distribution. See Texas Estates Code 22.010
  • Drug: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. Source: OCC
  • Escheat: Reversion of real or personal property to the state when 1) a person dies without leaving a will and has no heirs, or 2) when the property (such as a bank account) has been inactive for a certain period of time. Source: OCC
  • Estate: means a decedent's property, as that property:
    (1) exists originally and as the property changes in form by sale, reinvestment, or otherwise;
    (2) is augmented by any accretions and other additions to the property, including any property to be distributed to the decedent's representative by the trustee of a trust that terminates on the decedent's death, and substitutions for the property; and
    (3) is diminished by any decreases in or distributions from the property. See Texas Estates Code 22.012
  • Exempt property: means the property in a decedent's estate that is exempt from execution or forced sale by the constitution or laws of this state, and any allowance paid instead of that property. See Texas Estates Code 22.013
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
  • Governmental agency of the state: means :
    (1) a municipality;
    (2) a county;
    (3) a public school district;
    (4) a special-purpose district or authority;
    (5) a board, commission, department, office, or other agency in the executive branch of state government, including an institution of higher education, as defined by § 61. See Texas Estates Code 22.014
  • Heir: means a person who is entitled under the statutes of descent and distribution to a part of the estate of a decedent who dies intestate. See Texas Estates Code 22.015
  • Hotel: means the premises of an establishment:
    (A) where, in consideration of payment, travelers are furnished food and lodging;
    (B) in which are located:
    (i) at least 10 adequately furnished completely separate rooms with adequate facilities so comfortably disposed that persons usually apply for and receive overnight accommodations in the establishment, either in the course of usual and regular travel or as a residence; or
    (ii) at least five rooms described by Subparagraph (i) if the building being used as a hotel is a historic structure as defined by § 442. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Independent executor: means the personal representative of an estate under independent administration as provided by Chapter 401 and § 402. See Texas Estates Code 22.017
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Irrevocable trust: A trust arrangement that cannot be revoked, rescinded, or repealed by the grantor.
  • Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
  • Judge: means the presiding judge of any court having original jurisdiction over probate proceedings, regardless of whether the court is:
    (1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
    (2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise probate jurisdiction; or
    (3) a district court exercising probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.019
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Licensee: means a person who is the holder of a license provided in this code, or any agent, servant, or employee of that person. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • lien: include :
    (1) a deed of trust;
    (2) a vendor's lien, a mechanic's, materialman's, or laborer's lien, an attachment or garnishment lien, and a federal or state tax lien;
    (3) a chattel mortgage;
    (4) a judgment; and
    (5) a pledge by hypothecation. See Texas Estates Code 22.024
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Livestock: means cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, exotic livestock, including elk and elk hybrids, and hogs, unless otherwise defined. See Texas Agriculture Code 1.003
  • Malt beverage: means a fermented beverage of any name or description containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, brewed or produced from malt, in whole or in part, or from any malt substitute. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Mass shooting: means a person's discharge of a firearm to cause serious bodily injury or death, or to attempt to cause serious bodily injury or death, to four or more persons:
    (A) during the same criminal transaction; or
    (B) during different criminal transactions but pursuant to the same scheme or course of conduct. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age who:
    (1) has never been married; and
    (2) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes. See Texas Estates Code 22.022
  • Next of kin: includes :
    (1) an adopted child or the adopted child's descendants; and
    (2) the adoptive parent of the adopted child. See Texas Estates Code 22.026
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • Omission: means failure to act. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Penal institution: means a place designated by law for confinement of persons arrested for, charged with, or convicted of an offense. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Permittee: means a person who is the holder of a permit provided for in this code, or an agent, servant, or employee of that person. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Person: means a natural person or association of natural persons, trustee, receiver, partnership, corporation, organization, or the manager, agent, servant, or employee of any of them. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
  • person interested: means :
    (1) an heir, devisee, spouse, creditor, or any other having a property right in or claim against an estate being administered; and
    (2) anyone interested in the welfare of an incapacitated person, including a minor. See Texas Estates Code 22.018
  • personal representative: include :
    (1) an executor and independent executor;
    (2) an administrator, independent administrator, and temporary administrator; and
    (3) a successor to an executor or administrator listed in Subdivision (1) or (2). See Texas Estates Code 22.031
  • Premises: has the meaning given it in § 11. See Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 1.04
  • Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Public place: means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Qualified delivery method: means delivery by:
    (1) hand delivery by courier, with courier's proof of delivery receipt;
    (2) certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, with return receipt; or
    (3) a private delivery service designated as a designated delivery service by the United States Secretary of the Treasury under Section 7502(f)(2), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, with proof of delivery receipt. See Texas Estates Code 22.0295
  • Real property: includes estates and interests in land, whether corporeal or incorporeal or legal or equitable. See Texas Estates Code 22.030
  • Reasonable belief: means a belief that would be held by an ordinary and prudent man in the same circumstances as the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
  • Serious bodily injury: means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Succeeding: means immediately following. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Surety: includes a personal surety and a corporate surety. See Texas Estates Code 22.032
  • Swear: includes affirm. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Unlawful: means criminal or tortious or both and includes what would be criminal or tortious but for a defense not amounting to justification or privilege. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Texas Estates Code 22.033