Texas Estates Code 202.205 – Effect of Certain Judgments On Liability to Creditors
(a) A judgment in a proceeding to declare heirship stating that there is no necessity for administration of the estate of the decedent who is the subject of the proceeding constitutes authorization for a person who owes money to the estate, has custody of estate property, acts as registrar or transfer agent of an evidence of interest, indebtedness, property, or right belonging to the estate, or purchases from or otherwise deals with an heir named in the judgment to take the following actions without liability to a creditor of the estate or other person:
(1) to pay, deliver, or transfer the property or the evidence of property rights to an heir named in the judgment; or
(2) to purchase property from an heir named in the judgment.
(b) An heir named in a judgment in a proceeding to declare heirship is entitled to enforce the heir’s right to payment, delivery, or transfer described by Subsection (a) by suit.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 202.205
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- 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 - 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.
- 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
- Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) Except as provided by this section, this chapter does not affect the rights or remedies of the creditors of a decedent who is the subject of a proceeding to declare heirship.