Texas Estates Code 355.113 – Liability for Nonpayment of Claim
(a) A person or claimant, except the state treasury, entitled to payment from an estate of money the court orders to be paid is authorized to have execution issued against the estate property for the amount due, with interest and costs, if:
(1) the personal representative fails to pay the money on demand;
(2) estate funds are available to make the payment; and
(3) the person or claimant makes an affidavit of the demand for payment and the representative’s failure to pay.
(b) The court may cite the personal representative and the sureties on the representative’s bond to show cause why the representative and sureties should not be held liable under Subsection (a) for the debt, interest, costs, and damages:
(1) on return of the execution not satisfied; or
(2) on the affidavit of demand and failure to pay under Subsection (a).
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 355.113
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 - Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Month: means a calendar month. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
- 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) On the return of citation served under Subsection (b), the court shall render judgment against the cited personal representative and sureties, in favor of the claim holder, if good cause why the representative and sureties should not be held liable is not shown. The judgment must be for:
(1) the amount previously ordered to be paid or established by suit that remains unpaid, together with interest and costs; and
(2) damages on the amount neglected to be paid at the rate of five percent per month for each month, or fraction of a month, that the payment was neglected to be paid after demand was made.
(d) Damages ordered under Subsection (c)(2) may be collected in any court of competent jurisdiction.