Texas Estates Code 257.051 – Contents of Application Generally
(a) An application for the probate of a will as a muniment of title must state and aver the following to the extent each is known to the applicant or can, with reasonable diligence, be ascertained by the applicant:
(1) each applicant’s name and domicile;
(1-a) the last three numbers of each applicant’s driver’s license number and social security number, if the applicant has been issued one;
(2) the testator‘s name, domicile, and, if known, age, on the date of the testator’s death;
(2-a) the last three numbers of the testator’s driver’s license number and social security number;
(3) the fact, date, and place of the testator’s death;
(4) facts showing that the court with which the application is filed has venue;
(5) that the testator owned property, including a statement generally describing the property and the property’s probable value;
(6) the date of the will;
(7) the name, state of residence, and physical address where service can be had of the executor named in the will;
(8) the name of each subscribing witness to the will, if any;
(9) whether one or more children born to or adopted by the testator after the testator executed the will survived the testator and, if so, the name of each of those children;
(10) that the testator’s estate does not owe an unpaid debt, other than any debt secured by a lien on real estate, or that for another reason there is no necessity for administration of the estate;
(11) whether a marriage of the testator was ever dissolved after the will was made and, if so, when and from whom; and
(12) whether the state, a governmental agency of the state, or a charitable organization is named in the will as a devisee.
(b) If an applicant does not state or aver any matter required by Subsection (a) in the application, the application must state the reason the matter is not stated and averred.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 257.051
- 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 - 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 - Devisee: includes a legatee. See Texas Estates Code 22.009
- 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 - Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- 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 - Probate: Proving a will
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
