(a) In this section, “combat zone” means an area that the president of the United States by executive order designates for purposes of 26 U.S.C. § 112 as an area in which armed forces of the United States are or have engaged in combat.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the clerk of a county court may not charge, or collect from, the estate of a decedent any of the following fees if the decedent died while in active service as a member of the armed forces of the United States in a combat zone:
(1) a fee for or associated with the filing of the decedent’s will for probate; and
(2) a fee for any service rendered by the probate court regarding the administration of the decedent’s estate.

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Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 53.053

  • 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
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • 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
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005