Simplified route
$75,000
Small estate affidavit (Estates Code ch. 205); usable 30 days after death.
Eligibility and caveatsTexas estate administration
Texas probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $75,000
In Texas, estates up to $75,000 can use the small-estate route and executors earn 5% of the cash received and paid out, never more than 5% of the estate’s gross fair market value (Tex. Est. Code § 352.002). In Texas, probate is heard by a statutory probate court (in the largest counties) or by the county court / county court at law elsewhere. Intestate estates under $75,000 (excluding homestead and exempt property) may use a small estate affidavit; opening filing fees are set county-by-county.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Texas simplified probate route
Up to $75,000; usable 30 days after death. Source: Tex. Est. Code § 205.001.
Small estate affidavit (Estates Code ch. 205)No combined Texas probate total
The Statutory Probate Court / County Court where the estate is opened sets or collects the filing charge. Tex. Est. Code § 352.002 caps executor pay without fixing it. Each side in full: Texas probate filing cost and Texas executor fees.
Screen a specific Texas estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
Set locally; ask the receiving court.
The opening probate application fee is set by each county and is not published as a single statewide figure. Local Government Code § 118.052 fixes only specific per-service probate fees (e.g., $25 to file an inventory, $10 for a claim), not a consolidated fee to open a probate. Where it is set: Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 118.052; county district/county clerk fee schedules.
Executor compensation
Court-reviewed
The statute caps compensation; the court sets the amount within it. Source: Tex. Est. Code § 352.002.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Not published
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Texas
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Tex. Est. Code §§ 352.002–352.004, 352.051 | Texas pays 5% on cash that moves, and leaves out the cash that was already there — representative pay note | 2026-10-13 |
Texas decision map
The four facts that change the Texas route
Each Texas answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Texas answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small estate affidavit (Estates Code ch. 205) |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. |
| What is the amount screen? | $75,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; creditor deadlines: not published here |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory ceiling, measured on money received and paid out during administration. |
Limits and unresolved costs
Continue
What Texas courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Self-help centreTexas Courts — Self-HelpTexas Judicial Branch
Official self-help portal; Texas does not publish statewide fill-in probate forms.
- Self-help centreProbate — Texas State Law Library research guideTexas State Law Library
Official state law library guide to probate procedure and small estate affidavits.
Limits on court material
- Texas does not publish a single statewide set of fill-in probate forms; many counties require an attorney to open an administration and publish their own local forms and fee schedules.
Texas primary sources
Each rule on the Texas pages comes from one of these 3 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
Tex. Est. Code § 205.001, Texas Estates Code § 205.001 - Small estate affidavit entitlement.
Executor compensation rule
Tex. Est. Code § 352.002, Texas Estates Code § 352.002 - Standard compensation.
- An executor, administrator or temporary administrator whom a court finds to have managed the estate as the Estates Code requires earns 5% of the cash actually received or paid out in the administration.
- The total cannot pass 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate under administration, and nothing is earned on money the decedent had on hand or held for them in a bank or other financial institution or a brokerage firm at death, on collecting life insurance, or on paying cash to an heir or legatee as such.
Court cost rule
Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 118.052, Texas Local Government Code § 118.052 - County clerk fee schedule (probate).
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Texas source list · how sources are checked · report a correction