Texas · Estates Code chapter 257Texas muniment of title: selling a house under a probated will

Texas allows a simpler probate when a will exists and no administration is needed: the court admits the will to probate as a muniment of title (Estates Code chapter 257). The court can do so if it's satisfied the will should be probated and either the estate owes no unpaid debt other than debts secured by liens on real estate – such as the mortgage on the house – or there is another reason no administration is necessary (§257.001). The applicant must prove, among other things, that the testator died, that four years have not passed since the death, that the court has jurisdiction and venue, that citation was served, that the estate has no unpaid debts other than real-estate-secured ones (or no need for administration), that the will wasn't revoked, and – if the will isn't self-proved – that it was validly made (§257.054). The application lists, among other things, the testator's property and its probable value, the executor, any children born or adopted after the will, any later divorce, and whether the state or a charity is a devisee (§257.051). The order is sufficient authority for anyone who buys from or deals with the estate to complete the transaction without administration, and the person entitled to the property under the will may deal with it as if record title were in their name (§257.102). If the court also issues a declaratory judgment naming who takes under the will, it is conclusive in favor of a good-faith buyer for value who bought afterward without actual notice of an omitted person's claim (§257.101). Within 180 days the applicant files an affidavit on which terms of the will have been fulfilled, but missing it doesn't affect title (§257.103). An administration can still be opened later in some cases (§257.151).