Sections
Chapter 101 Stephen F. Austin State University 101.01 – 101.41
Chapter 102 West Texas State University 102.01 – 102.54
Chapter 105 University of North Texas System 105.001 – 105.502
Chapter 106 Texas Southern University 106.01 – 106.55
Chapter 107 Texas Woman’s University System 107.01 – 107.201
Chapter 109 Texas Tech University System 109.001 – 109.255
Chapter 109A Angelo State University 109A.001 – 109A.005
Chapter 110 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Institutions 110.01 – 110.40
Chapter 111 the University of Houston 111.01 – 111.157
Chapter 114 Chiropractic College 114.001 – 114.002
Chapter 115 Public University for Central Texas 115.001 – 115.002

Terms Used In Texas Education Code > Title 3 > Subtitle F - Other Colleges and Universities

  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • Affidavit: means a statement in writing of a fact or facts signed by the party making it, sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified to by the officer under his seal of office. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • 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.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Association: means an entity governed as an association under Title 6 or 7. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Bequest: Property gifted by will.
  • Business: means a trade, occupation, profession, or other commercial activity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Catch: means take or kill and includes an attempt to take or kill. See Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 1.101
  • Certificate of formation: means :
    (A) the document required to be filed with the filing officer under Chapter 3 to form a filing entity; and
    (B) if appropriate, a restated certificate of formation and all amendments of an original or restated certificate of formation. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Chambers: A judge's office.
  • 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
  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conversion: means :
    (A) the continuance of a domestic entity as a non-code organization of any type;
    (B) the continuance of a non-code organization as a domestic entity of any type;
    (C) the continuance of a domestic entity of one type as a domestic entity of another type;
    (D) the continuance of a domestic entity of one type as a foreign entity of the same type that may be treated as a domestication, continuance, or transfer transaction under the laws of the jurisdiction of formation of the foreign entity; or
    (E) the continuance of a foreign entity of one type as a domestic entity of the same type that may be treated as a domestication, continuance, or transfer transaction under the laws of the jurisdiction of formation of the foreign entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Corporation: means an entity governed as a corporation under Title 2 or 7. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • 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
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • 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.
  • Devise: To gift property by will.
  • Director: means an individual who serves on the board of directors of a foreign or domestic corporation. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Domestic: means , with respect to an entity, that the entity is formed under this code or the entity's internal affairs are governed by this code. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Domestic entity: means an organization formed under or the internal affairs of which are governed by this code. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Donee: The recipient of a gift.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Effective date of this code: means January 1, 2006. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Effects: includes all personal property and all interest in that property. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
  • Entity: means a domestic entity or foreign entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • 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.
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • 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
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Filing entity: means a domestic entity that is a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, professional association, cooperative, or real estate investment trust. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Filing instrument: means an instrument, document, consent, or statement that is required or authorized by this code to be filed by or for an entity with the filing officer in accordance with Chapter 4. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Filing officer: means :
    (A) with respect to an entity other than a domestic real estate investment trust, the secretary of state; or
    (B) with respect to a domestic real estate investment trust, the county clerk of the county in which the real estate investment trust's principal office is located in this state. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • For-profit corporation: means a corporation governed as a for-profit corporation under Chapter 21. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Foreign: means , with respect to an entity, that the entity is formed under, and the entity's internal affairs are governed by, the laws of a jurisdiction other than this state. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Foreign filing entity: means a foreign entity, other than a foreign limited liability partnership, that registers or is required to register as a foreign entity under Chapter 9. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • 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
  • General partner: means :
    (A) each partner in a general partnership; or
    (B) a person who has become, and has not ceased to be, a general partner in a limited partnership in accordance with the governing documents of the limited partnership or this code. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • General partnership: means a partnership governed as a general partnership under Chapter 152. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Germane: On the subject of the pending bill or other business; a strict standard of relevance.
  • Governing authority: means a person or group of persons who are entitled to manage and direct the affairs of an entity under this code and the governing documents of the entity, except that if the governing documents of the entity or this code divide the authority to manage and direct the affairs of the entity among different persons or groups of persons according to different matters, "governing authority" means the person or group of persons entitled to manage and direct the affairs of the entity with respect to a matter under the governing documents of the entity or this code. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Governing documents: means :
    (A) in the case of a domestic entity:
    (i) the certificate of formation for a domestic filing entity or the document or agreement under which a domestic nonfiling entity is formed; and
    (ii) the other documents or agreements adopted by the entity under this code to govern the formation or the internal affairs of the entity; or
    (B) in the case of a foreign entity, the instruments, documents, or agreements adopted under the law of its jurisdiction of formation to govern the formation or the internal affairs of the entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Governing person: means a person serving as part of the governing authority of an entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
  • Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
  • 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
  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • Individual: means a natural person. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
  • Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
  • 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
  • Justice: when applied to a magistrate, means justice of the peace. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Law: means , unless the context requires otherwise, both statutory and common law. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Legal tender: coins, dollar bills, or other currency issued by a government as official money. Source: U.S. Mint
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • License: means a license, certificate of registration, or other legal authorization. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • 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
  • Limited liability company: means an entity governed as a limited liability company under Title 3 or 7. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Limited liability partnership: means a partnership governed as a limited liability partnership under Title 4. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Limited partnership: means a partnership that is governed as a limited partnership under Title 4 and that has one or more general partners and one or more limited partners. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Managerial official: means an officer or a governing person. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.
  • Member: means :
    (A) in the case of a limited liability company, a person who has become, and has not ceased to be, a member in the limited liability company as provided by its governing documents or this code;
    (B) in the case of a nonprofit corporation, a person who has membership rights in the nonprofit corporation under its governing documents;
    (C) in the case of a cooperative association, a member of a nonshare or share association;
    (D) in the case of a nonprofit association, a person who has membership rights in the nonprofit association under its governing documents; or
    (E) in the case of a professional association, a person who has membership rights in the professional association under its governing documents. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Merger: means :
    (A) the division of a domestic entity into two or more new domestic entities or other organizations or into a surviving domestic entity and one or more new domestic or foreign entities or non-code organizations; or
    (B) the combination of one or more domestic entities with one or more domestic entities or non-code organizations resulting in:
    (i) one or more surviving domestic entities or non-code organizations;
    (ii) the creation of one or more new domestic entities or non-code organizations; or
    (iii) one or more surviving domestic entities or non-code organizations and the creation of one or more new domestic entities or non-code organizations. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Month: means a calendar month. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
  • National Bank: A bank that is subject to the supervision of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department. A national bank can be recognized because it must have "national" or "national association" in its name. Source: OCC
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Nonprofit association: means an association governed as a nonprofit association under Chapter 252. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Nonprofit corporation: means a corporation governed as a nonprofit corporation under Chapter 22. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Oath: includes affirmation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
  • 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.
  • Officer: means an individual elected, appointed, or designated as an officer of an entity by the entity's governing authority or under the entity's governing documents. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Organization: means a corporation, limited or general partnership, limited liability company, business trust, real estate investment trust, joint venture, joint stock company, cooperative, association, bank, insurance company, credit union, savings and loan association, or other organization, regardless of whether the organization is for-profit, nonprofit, domestic, or foreign. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • Ownership interest: means an owner's interest in an entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Partner: means a limited partner or general partner. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Partnership: means an entity governed as a partnership under Title 4. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Partnership interest: means a partner's interest in a partnership. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
  • Person: means an individual or a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, trust, association, or other organization, estate, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or other legal entity, or a protected series or registered series of a domestic limited liability company or foreign entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • 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
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Population: means the population shown by the most recent federal decennial census. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Professional corporation: has the meaning assigned by § 301. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Professional entity: has the meaning assigned by § 301. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Professional individual: has the meaning assigned by § 301. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Professional limited liability company: has the meaning assigned by § 301. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Professional service: has the meaning assigned by § 301. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Property: includes tangible and intangible property and an interest in that property. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
  • 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 estate investment trust: means an entity governed as a real estate investment trust under Title 5. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Real property: includes estates and interests in land, whether corporeal or incorporeal or legal or equitable. See Texas Estates Code 22.030
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
  • Revolving credit: A credit agreement (typically a credit card) that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved credit line when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due. (Also called a charge account or open-end credit.) Source: OCC
  • Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Secretary: means the:
    (A) individual designated as secretary of an entity under the entity's governing documents; or
    (B) officer or committee of persons authorized to perform the functions of secretary of an entity without regard to the designated name of the officer or committee. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Sell: means to transfer the ownership or the right of possession of an item to a person for consideration and includes a barter and an even exchange. See Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 1.101
  • 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.
  • Share: means a unit into which the ownership interest in a for-profit corporation, professional corporation, real estate investment trust, or professional association is divided, regardless of whether the share is certificated or uncertificated. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
  • Signature: includes the mark of a person unable to write, and "subscribe" includes the making of such a mark. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Succeeding: means immediately following. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • sworn: includes affirm or affirmed. See Texas Government Code 312.011
  • Take: except as otherwise provided by this code, means collect, hook, hunt, net, shoot, or snare, by any means or device, and includes an attempt to take or to pursue in order to take. See Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 1.101
  • Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
  • Tenancy by the entirety: A type of joint tenancy between husband and wife that is recognized in some States. Neither party can sever the joint tenancy relationship; when a spouse dies, the survivor acquires full title to the property.
  • Tenancy in common: A type of property ownership in which two or more individuals have an undivided interest in property. At the death of one tenant in common, his (her) fractional percentage of ownership in the property passes to the decedent
  • Testate: To die leaving a will.
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • Testify: Answer questions in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • User fees: Fees charged to users of goods or services provided by the government. In levying or authorizing these fees, the legislature determines whether the revenue should go into the treasury or should be available to the agency providing the goods or services.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
  • Week: means seven consecutive days. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Wild: when used in reference to an animal, means a species, including each individual of a species, that normally lives in a state of nature and is not ordinarily domesticated. See Texas Parks and Wildlife Code 1.101
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • written: means an expression of words, letters, characters, numbers, symbols, figures, or other textual information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium that is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002