Texas Estates Code 351.152 – Contingent Interest for Certain Attorney’s Fees; Court Approval
(a) A personal representative may, without court approval, convey or enter into a contract to convey for attorney services a contingent interest in any property sought to be recovered, not to exceed a one-third interest in the property.
(b) A personal representative, including an independent executor or independent administrator, may convey or enter into a contract to convey for attorney services a contingent interest in any property sought to be recovered under this subchapter in an amount that exceeds a one-third interest in the property only on the approval of the court in which the estate is being administered. The court must approve a contract or conveyance described by this subsection before an attorney performs any legal services. A contract entered into or a conveyance made in violation of this subsection is void unless the court ratifies or reforms the contract or documents relating to the conveyance to the extent necessary to make the contract or conveyance meet the requirements of this subsection.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 351.152
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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 - 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
- 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 - Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) In approving a contract or conveyance under this section, the court shall consider:
(1) the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions involved, and the skill required to perform the legal services properly;
(2) the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar legal services;
(3) the value of the property recovered or sought to be recovered by the personal representative under this subchapter;
(4) the benefits to the estate that the attorney will be responsible for securing; and
(5) the experience and ability of the attorney who will perform the services.