Families often wait to deal with an estate, sometimes for years, because no one is pressing them. Texas law does impose deadlines, and missing the main one can change who inherits.
The four-year rule
A will generally must be offered for probate within four years of the date of death. Within that window, the court can admit the will and, if needed, appoint an executor.
After four years
Once four years pass, the options narrow:
- The will may still be probated as a muniment of title — but only if the person offering it was not in default, meaning they had a reasonable excuse for the delay. Courts look at this closely, and a beneficiary who simply chose not to act may be found in default.
- An executor generally cannot be appointed, except in narrow circumstances.
- If the will cannot be probated, property generally passes as if there were no will, under Texas intestacy rules. That can send property to people the deceased did not choose.
Act now. Filing even days before the deadline preserves options that disappear the day after it.
When there is no will
There is no four-year deadline for a determination of heirship, the proceeding that establishes who inherited from someone who died without a will. Families sometimes file one decades later to clear title to land. It does get harder with time: witnesses die and records disappear.
Other clocks that start at death
- Delivering the original will
- Anyone holding the original will should deliver it to the county clerk promptly after learning of the death.
- Small estate affidavit
- Cannot be filed until at least 30 days after death. See our small estate affidavit guide.
- Notice to creditors
- An executor must publish notice to creditors within one month of qualifying.
- Notice to beneficiaries
- Generally within 60 days after the will is admitted.
- Inventory
- Generally within 90 days after the executor qualifies, or an affidavit in lieu of inventory in an independent administration.
- Will contests
- Generally two years after the will is admitted. See contesting a will.
Why waiting costs more
Even when no deadline has passed, delay has real costs: property taxes and insurance still come due, accounts can be escheated to the state as unclaimed property, houses sit empty and deteriorate, and heirs die or move, which complicates signatures and multiplies the people who must be found.
Common questions
Is probate required at all?
No. Texas does not require probate if no property needs to be transferred through the court. But real estate in the deceased's name usually cannot be sold or refinanced without something from the court.
We just found Dad's will, five years later. Is it useless?
Not necessarily. If you did not know the will existed, a court may find you were not in default and admit it as a muniment of title.
This guide is general information about Texas law as of September 2026, not legal advice for your situation. Laws and dollar figures change, and small facts change outcomes. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Grover C. Peters III is responsible for this content.