Terms Used In Texas Estates Code > Title 2 > Subtitle G - Initial Appointment of Personal Representative and Opening of Administration

• Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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.
• Agency: includes authority, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, district, division, and office. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• 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.
• Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Association: means a government or governmental subdivision or agency, trust, partnership, or two or more persons having a joint or common economic interest. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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}
• Benefit: means anything reasonably regarded as economic gain or advantage, including benefit to any other person in whose welfare the beneficiary is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• 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
• Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
• 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
• Civil commitment facility: means a facility owned, leased, or operated by the state, or by a vendor under contract with the state, that houses only persons who have been civilly committed as sexually violent predators under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Coercion: means a threat, however communicated:
  (A) to commit an offense;
  (B) to inflict bodily injury in the future on the person threatened or another;
  (C) to accuse a person of any offense;
  (D) to expose a person to hatred, contempt, or ridicule;
  (E) to harm the credit or business repute of any person; or
  (F) to take or withhold action as a public servant, or to cause a public servant to take or withhold action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Consent: means assent in fact, whether express or apparent. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Controlled substance: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Deadly weapon: means :
  (A) a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or
  (B) anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Death: includes , for an individual who is an unborn child, the failure to be born alive. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• 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.
• Devisee: includes a legatee. See Texas Estates Code 22.009
• Distributee: means a person who is entitled to a part of the estate of a decedent under a lawful will or the statutes of descent and distribution. See Texas Estates Code 22.010
• District office: means an office of the federal or state government that is not voted on statewide. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Effective consent: includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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 election: means an election, other than a primary election, that regularly recurs at fixed dates. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• General election for state and county officers: means the general election at which officers of the federal, state, and county governments are elected. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Government: means :
  (A) the state;
  (B) a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or
  (C) any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Gubernatorial general election: means the general election held every four years to elect a governor for a full term. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Independent candidate: means a candidate in a nonpartisan election or a candidate in a partisan election who is not the nominee of a political party. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• 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
• Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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}
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• 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
• Law: means a constitution, statute, city charter, or city ordinance. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
• Livestock: means cattle, horses, mules, asses, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, exotic livestock, including elk and elk hybrids, and hogs, unless otherwise defined. See Texas Agriculture Code 1.003
• Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age who:
  (1) has never been married; and
  (2) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes. See Texas Estates Code 22.022
• Misdemeanor: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by fine, by confinement in jail, or by both fine and confinement in jail. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Next of kin: includes :
  (1) an adopted child or the adopted child's descendants; and
  (2) the adoptive parent of the adopted child. See Texas Estates Code 22.026
• Owner: means a person who:
  (A) has title to the property, possession of the property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of the property than the actor; or
  (B) is a holder in due course of a negotiable instrument. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Peace officer: means a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Penal institution: means a place designated by law for confinement of persons arrested for, charged with, or convicted of an offense. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
• Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• person interested: means :
  (1) an heir, devisee, spouse, creditor, or any other having a property right in or claim against an estate being administered; and
  (2) anyone interested in the welfare of an incapacitated person, including a minor. See Texas Estates Code 22.018
• Personal property: includes an interest in:
  (1) goods;
  (2) money;
  (3) a chose in action;
  (4) an evidence of debt; and
  (5) a real chattel. See Texas Estates Code 22.028
• 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
• Plea agreement: An arrangement between the prosecutor, the defense attorney, and the defendant in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for special considerations. ^Source:
• 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.
• Possession: means actual care, custody, control, or management. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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}
• Presidential primary election: means an election held under Subchapter Texas Election Code 1.005
• Primary election: means an election held by a political party under Chapter 172 to select its nominees for public office, and, unless the context indicates otherwise, the term includes a presidential primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public place: means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Public servant: means a person elected, selected, appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the following, even if he has not yet qualified for office or assumed his duties:
  (A) an officer, employee, or agent of government;
  (B) a juror or grand juror; or
  (C) an arbitrator, referee, or other person who is authorized by law or private written agreement to hear or determine a cause or controversy; or
  (D) an attorney at law or notary public when participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
  (E) a candidate for nomination or election to public office; or
  (F) a person who is performing a governmental function under a claim of right although he is not legally qualified to do so. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: includes estates and interests in land, whether corporeal or incorporeal or legal or equitable. See Texas Estates Code 22.030
• Registered voter: means a person registered to vote in this state whose registration is effective. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Residence address: means the street address and any apartment number, or the address at which mail is received if the residence has no address, and the city, state, and zip code that correspond to a person's residence. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Serious bodily injury: means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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
• Special election: means an election that is not a general election or a primary election. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Succeeding: means immediately following. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Surety: includes a personal surety and a corporate surety. See Texas Estates Code 22.032
• Swear: includes affirm. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• 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.
• Uniform election date: means an election date prescribed by § 41. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Unlawful: means criminal or tortious or both and includes what would be criminal or tortious but for a defense not amounting to justification or privilege. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Voting year: means the 12-month period beginning January 1 of each year. See Texas Election Code 1.005
• Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Texas Estates Code 22.033
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.