Terms Used In Texas Property Code Chapter 23 - Partition

• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• 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
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• 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.
• 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
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• 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
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
• 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 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
• Surety: includes a personal surety and a corporate surety. See Texas Estates Code 22.032