Texas Estates Code 33.001 – Probate of Wills and Granting of Letters Testamentary and of Administration
(a) Venue for a probate proceeding to admit a will to probate or for the granting of letters testamentary or of administration is:
(1) in the county in which the decedent resided, if the decedent had a domicile or fixed place of residence in this state; or
(2) with respect to a decedent who did not have a domicile or fixed place of residence in this state:
(A) if the decedent died in this state, in the county in which:
(i) the decedent’s principal estate was located at the time of the decedent’s death; or
(ii) the decedent died; or
(B) if the decedent died outside of this state:
(i) in any county in this state in which the decedent’s nearest of kin reside; or
(ii) if there is no next of kin of the decedent in this state, in the county in which the decedent’s principal estate was located at the time of the decedent’s death.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) the decedent’s next of kin:
(A) is the decedent’s surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, other relatives of the decedent within the third degree by consanguinity; and
(B) includes a person who legally adopted the decedent or has been legally adopted by the decedent and that person’s descendants; and
(2) the decedent’s nearest of kin is determined in accordance with order of descent, with the decedent’s next of kin who is nearest in order of descent first, and so on.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 33.001
- 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 - Next of kin: includes :
(1) an adopted child or the adopted child's descendants; and
(2) the adoptive parent of the adopted child. See Texas Estates Code 22.026 - Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
- Probate: Proving a will
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.