Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Texas court costs
Texas probate filing cost: not published
Texas has no single statewide opening probate filing fee. Government/Local Government Code fixes only itemized per-service fees; the amount to open an administration is a consolidated charge set by each county clerk, so it varies by county.
not published is not published as a current figure, because the statute states its amounts apply before adjustment by another authority. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Texas does not fix this amount in a single statewide schedule, so this site reports it as unknown rather than publishing an estimate that no source supports.
Texas publishes no component breakdown for this cost.
The controlling amount is set below the statute, so this site reports it as unknown rather than estimating it. The linked source explains where the figure comes from.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Texas does not provide one operative statewide total for this page. The exact answer must come from the receiving Statutory Probate Court / County Court and its current local schedule; this site will not turn a base charge into a made-up statewide estimate.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Texas filing-cost map
Separate the Texas filing charge from the estate budget
The Texas filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded Texas answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small estate affidavit (Estates Code ch. 205) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $75,000 | Establish unsecured debt before treating the screen as decided. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; No deadline is recorded here: Texas creditor deadlines run from multiple independent triggers (permissive notice by publication, required actual notice to secured/known creditors, and a claim-presentation window) set out across Estates Code ch. 308 and ch. 355; the operative periods depend on the notice type and are not a single statewide day count. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. | Ask the Statutory Probate Court / County Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Estates Code § 352.002 entitles the executor/administrator to a 5% commission on all amounts actually received or paid out in cash in the administration, but the aggregate commission may not exceed 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate. Cash on hand or in accounts at death, life-insurance proceeds, and cash paid to heirs/legatees are excluded from the commission base. Section 352.003 permits alternative reasonable compensation for unusual efforts. The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the Texas cost record can answer
Texas has no single statewide schedule in the accepted record.
Texas has no single statewide opening probate filing fee. Government/Local Government Code fixes only itemized per-service fees; the amount to open an administration is a consolidated charge set by each county clerk, so it varies by county. This page therefore names the local confirmation path instead of turning a base charge into a statewide estimate.
Case-file context
Keep the Texas answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Texas descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
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.
Available only where the decedent died INTESTATE. Distributees may collect the estate by affidavit if 30 days have elapsed since death, no personal representative is pending or appointed, the estate assets (excluding homestead and exempt property) exceed known liabilities (excluding those secured by homestead/exempt property), and the value of estate assets excluding homestead and exempt property does not exceed $75,000.
Compensation context
Estates Code § 352.002 entitles the executor/administrator to a 5% commission on all amounts actually received or paid out in cash in the administration, but the aggregate commission may not exceed 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate. Cash on hand or in accounts at death, life-insurance proceeds, and cash paid to heirs/legatees are excluded from the commission base. Section 352.003 permits alternative reasonable compensation for unusual efforts.
Estates Code § 352.002 entitles the executor/administrator to a 5% commission on all amounts actually received or paid out in cash in the administration, but the aggregate commission may not exceed 5% of the gross fair market value of the estate. Cash on hand or in accounts at death, life-insurance proceeds, and cash paid to heirs/legatees are excluded from the commission base. Section 352.003 permits alternative reasonable compensation for unusual efforts. The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration.
Deadline context
No deadline is recorded here: Texas creditor deadlines run from multiple independent triggers (permissive notice by publication, required actual notice to secured/known creditors, and a claim-presentation window) set out across Estates Code ch. 308 and ch. 355; the operative periods depend on the notice type and are not a single statewide day count.
Court-material note: 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.
Arithmetic illustration
See the Texas amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Texas ceiling is $75,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value with statutory exemptions not classified by this worksheet. Counted that way, $56,300 sits below the Texas figure and $93,800 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Texas counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Texas ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $56,300 | Below $75,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $93,800 | Above $75,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Texas Courts — Self-HelpTexas Judicial Branch
- Probate — Texas State Law Library research guideTexas State Law Library
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.
Source trail
Records used by this Texas map
- Tex. Est. Code § 205.001Texas Estates Code § 205.001 - Small estate affidavit entitlement; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Tex. Est. Code § 352.002Texas Estates Code § 352.002 - Standard compensation; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Tex. Loc. Gov't Code § 118.052Texas Local Government Code § 118.052 - County clerk fee schedule (probate); reviewed August 9, 2026