Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Texas
California Probate Real Property in Texas
Decedent died intestate domicilled in California. Probate was opened in California.He owned real property in Harris County, Texas. Appraised value is $7,000. Does a second probate in Texas have to be opened or does Texas have a code section similar to California Probate Code section 13200 - affidavit procedure for real property of small value?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: California Probate Real Property in Texas
We have an Heirship Affidavit that we use. The better approach, though, would be to get a conformed copy of the CA judgment with the congressional certificate and will attached, and file it as a Texas judgment in probate. Then that gets filed in the real property records and title is automatically transferred to the estate. The filing fee in Harris County is $158 for the entry of a sister-state judgment, and the filing of the judgment in the real property records is $14 for the first page and $2 for each page thereafter.