(a) This section only applies to exempt property described by Section 353.051(a).
(a-1) The executor or administrator of an estate shall deliver, without delay, exempt property that has been set aside for the decedent‘s surviving spouse and children in accordance with this section.

Ask a will, trust or estate question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified estate & trust lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 353.052

  • Child: includes an adopted child, regardless of whether the adoption occurred through:
    (1) an existing or former statutory procedure; or
    (2) an equitable adoption or acts of estoppel. See Texas Estates Code 22.004
  • 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
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Exempt property: means the property in a decedent's estate that is exempt from execution or forced sale by the constitution or laws of this state, and any allowance paid instead of that property. See Texas Estates Code 22.013
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age who:
    (1) has never been married; and
    (2) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes. See Texas Estates Code 22.022
  • Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(b) If there is a surviving spouse and there are no children of the decedent, or if all the children, including any adult incapacitated children, of the decedent are also the children of the surviving spouse, the executor or administrator shall deliver all exempt property to the surviving spouse.
(c) If there is a surviving spouse and there are children of the decedent who are not also children of the surviving spouse, the executor or administrator shall deliver the share of those children in exempt property, other than the homestead, to:
(1) the children, if the children are of legal age;
(2) the children’s guardian, if the children are minors; or
(3) the guardian of each of the children who is an incapacitated adult, or to another appropriate person, as determined by the court, on behalf of the adult incapacitated child if there is no guardian.
(d) If there is no surviving spouse and there are children of the decedent, the executor or administrator shall deliver exempt property, other than the homestead, to:
(1) the children, if the children are of legal age;
(2) the children’s guardian, if the children are minors; or
(3) the guardian of each of the children who is an incapacitated adult, or to another appropriate person, as determined by the court, on behalf of the adult incapacitated child if there is no guardian.
(e) In all cases, the executor or administrator shall deliver the homestead to:
(1) the decedent’s surviving spouse, if there is a surviving spouse; or
(2) the guardian of the decedent’s minor children, if there is not a surviving spouse.