Texas Estates Code 201.052 – Paternal Inheritance
(a) For purposes of inheritance, a child is the child of the child’s biological father if:
(1) the child is born under circumstances described by § 160.201, Family Code;
(2) the child is adjudicated to be the child of the father by court decree under Chapter 160, Family Code;
(3) the child was adopted by the child’s father; or
(4) the father executed an acknowledgment of paternity under Subchapter D, Chapter 160, Family Code, or a similar statement properly executed in another jurisdiction.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if a child has intended parents, as defined by § 160.102, Family Code, under a gestational agreement validated under Subchapter I, Chapter 160, Family Code, the child is the child of the intended father and not the biological father unless the biological father is also the intended father.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 201.052
- 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 - 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 - 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 - Decedent: A deceased person.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
- Probate: Proving a will
(b) A child described by Subsection (a) or (a-1) and the child’s issue shall inherit from the child’s father and the child’s paternal kindred, both descendants, ascendants, and collateral kindred in all degrees, and they may inherit from the child and the child’s issue.
(c) A person may petition the probate court for a determination of right of inheritance from a decedent if the person:
(1) claims to be a biological child of the decedent and is not otherwise presumed to be a child of the decedent; or
(2) claims inheritance through a biological child of the decedent who is not otherwise presumed to be a child of the decedent.
(d) If under Subsection (c) the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the purported father was the biological father of the child:
(1) the child is treated as any other child of the decedent for purposes of inheritance; and
(2) the child and the child’s issue may inherit from the child’s paternal kindred, both descendants, ascendants, and collateral kindred in all degrees, and they may inherit from the child and the child’s issue.
(e) This section does not permit inheritance by a purported father of a child, recognized or not, if the purported father’s parental rights have been terminated.
(f) This section does not permit inheritance by a child for whom no right of inheritance accrues under § 201.056 or by the child’s issue.