Texas Estates Code 360.301 – Liability for Failure to Deliver Estate Property
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(a) If an executor or administrator neglects, when demanded, to deliver a portion of an estate ordered to be delivered to a person entitled to that portion, the person may file with the court clerk a written complaint alleging:
(1) the fact of the neglect;
(2) the date of the person’s demand; and
(3) other relevant facts.
(b) On the filing of a complaint under Subsection (a), the court clerk shall issue a citation to be served personally on the executor or administrator. The citation must:
(1) apprise the executor or administrator of the complaint; and
(2) cite the executor or administrator to appear before the court and answer, if the executor or administrator desires, at the time designated in the citation.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 360.301
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- 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.
- 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
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- 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
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) If at the hearing the court finds that the citation was properly served and returned and that the executor or administrator is guilty of the neglect alleged, the court shall enter an order to that effect.
(d) An executor or administrator found guilty under Subsection (c) is liable to the complainant for damages at the rate of 10 percent of the amount or the appraised value of the portion of the estate neglectfully withheld, per month, for each month or fraction of a month that the portion is or has been neglectfully withheld after the date of demand. Damages under this subsection may be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction.