(a) The executor of a decedent‘s will or the decedent’s next of kin may file an application for an order limiting the right of the decedent’s surviving spouse to control the decedent’s burial or cremation.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a), the decedent’s next of kin:
(1) is determined in accordance with order of descent, with the person nearest in order of descent first, and so on; and
(2) includes the decedent’s descendants who legally adopted the decedent or who have been legally adopted by the decedent.

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Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 152.101

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • 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
  • Testate: To die leaving a will.

(c) An application under this section must be under oath and must establish:
(1) whether the decedent died intestate or testate;
(2) that the surviving spouse is alleged to be a principal or accomplice in a wilful act that resulted in the decedent’s death; and
(3) that good cause exists to limit the surviving spouse’s right to control the decedent’s burial or cremation.