(a) A probate court may enter an order declaring that the parent of a child under 18 years of age may not inherit from or through the child under the laws of descent and distribution if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has:
(1) voluntarily abandoned and failed to support the child in accordance with the parent’s obligation or ability for at least three years before the date of the child’s death, and did not resume support for the child before that date;
(2) voluntarily and with knowledge of the pregnancy:
(A) abandoned the child’s mother beginning at a time during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the birth;
(B) failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the mother during the period of abandonment before the child’s birth; and
(C) remained apart from and failed to support the child since birth; or
(3) been convicted or has been placed on community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal Code or adjudicated under Title 3, Family Code, for conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would constitute a violation of one of the following sections of the Penal Code:
(A) § 19.02 (murder);
(B) § 19.03 (capital murder);
(C) § 19.04 (manslaughter);
(D) § 21.11 (indecency with a child);
(E) § 22.01 (assault);
(F) § 22.011 (sexual assault);
(G) § 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(H) § 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
(I) § 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(J) § 22.041 (abandoning or endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(K) § 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);
(L) § 43.25 (sexual performance by a child); or
(M) § 43.26 (possession or promotion of child pornography).
(b) On a determination under Subsection (a) that the parent of a child may not inherit from or through the child, the parent shall be treated as if the parent predeceased the child for purposes of:
(1) inheritance under the laws of descent and distribution; and
(2) any other cause of action based on parentage.

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Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 201.062

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Probate: Proving a will