When a person passes away with a draft will, the executor or personal representative named in the will must usually request legalization. In Texas, state and local court rules dictate the timeline for an executor to prove a will. If the first named executor dies before the maker of the will, then an alternate executor can take on the role. When applying for succession, the alternate must demonstrate to the court that the original executor has died.
It is important to appoint someone to act as your executor when making a will, also known as a personal representative in some states. The executor is responsible for managing your estate after your death, including pooling assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing assets according to the terms of your will. If you name an executor in your will and you die first, they can file your will for legalization and fulfill their duties to manage your estate. The Texas Probate Code allows for a family allowance to be paid to the deceased's surviving spouse, minor children, and incapacitated adult children for one year from the date of death.
If the executor who died did not leave a will, then the beneficiary or beneficiaries who receive the largest sum of the estate are likely to have the right to negotiate with the estate. As a result, if someone's executor dies before them, there may be multiple co-executors or a successor executor. Sometimes, for smaller estates or if most assets are jointly owned with a surviving spouse, asset holders may agree to release payment without needing an estate grant. To determine who inherits an estate, you must first decide if the deceased's property is separate or community property; whether they were married or not; if they had children; and if so, whether those children were also children of their spouse.
If an executor named in the will dies before the deceased and before the Court has issued the grant of succession, what happens next depends on what is stated in the will. By appointing co-executors, you can order all executors to be responsible for all of their fiduciary duties under the will or you can designate certain powers of attorney to certain beneficiaries as you see fit. Only a court can issue a document (commonly called letters of administration or simply letters) that gives someone authority over a deceased person's estate assets. To obtain a grant of probate, the Supreme Court must receive information about the assets and liabilities of the estate, the deceased person, witnesses to the will, executors and the will itself. At Davidson Law Group, our probate attorneys discuss what happens after an executor dies and how Texas law handles these situations.
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