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# Affidavit of Heirship Texas: A Six-Step Checklist When a Parent Dies Without a Will
- URL: https://fast-house-buying.ghost.io/affidavit-of-heirship-texas/
- Published: 2026-11-09T20:12:33.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-09T20:12:33.000Z
- Description: When a parent dies without a will and the house is still in their name, an affidavit of heirship can show who inherited it. Here is how to prepare, sign and record one, and where it falls short.
- Author: Fast House Buying Team
- Tags: Probate and Inherited Homes

A parent dies without a will, the house is still in their name, and nobody has opened a probate case. That is where an affidavit of heirship Texas families can sign and record may help. It is a sworn statement of the family history that, once recorded, helps a title company see who inherited the house. This checklist walks through the six steps from gathering facts to a recorded document, and the limits you should know before you count on it to sell.

We quote the Estates Code so you can check each point. Use this with advice from a probate or real estate attorney.

## What is an affidavit of heirship Texas law recognizes?

It is not a court order. [Estates Code Chapter 203](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.203.htm) is titled "Nonjudicial Evidence of Heirship." Section 203.001(a) says a court shall receive a statement of facts about "the family history, genealogy, marital status, or the identity of the heirs of a decedent" as prima facie evidence when two things are true:

- the statement is in an affidavit or other instrument "legally executed and acknowledged or sworn to before, and certified by, an officer authorized to take acknowledgments or oaths," and
- it "has been of record for five years or more" in the deed records of the county where the property is, or where the person who died lived.

So the affidavit becomes stronger evidence with time. On the day you record it, it is a sworn family history in the public record. Whether that is enough to close a sale is a decision your title company makes.

![Empty worn kitchen with a patterned tile backsplash, bare wooden shelves and a window onto overgrown branches](https://storage.ghost.io/c/28/2c/282c05bc-4417-4544-9579-a61f1ab303f1/content/images/2026/11/c9180684.jpg)

## How do you prepare and record one, step by step?

### Step 1: Confirm there is no will to probate

The statute's own form says "Decedent died without leaving a written will" and tells you to modify that line if there was one. If a will turns up, the affidavit does not replace it. [Section 256.001](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.256.htm) says a will "is not effective to prove title to, or the right to possession of, any property" until it is admitted to probate. Under Section 256.003(a), a will generally may not be admitted to probate after the fourth anniversary of the death unless the applicant shows they were not in default. Search desk drawers, safe deposit records and the lawyer who handled family papers before you start.

### Step 2: Work out who the heirs are

Texas intestacy rules in [Chapter 201](https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.201.htm) decide who inherits. Three common patterns:

- **No surviving spouse.** Section 201.001(b) says the estate passes to "the person's children and the children's descendants."
- **Surviving spouse, community property, all children shared.** Section 201.003(b) passes the community estate to the surviving spouse when all surviving children and descendants are also the surviving spouse's.
- **Surviving spouse, children from another relationship.** Section 201.003(c) says the deceased spouse's undivided one-half interest in the community estate passes to "the deceased spouse's children or other descendants," meaning all of them, shared children included.

Separate property follows different rules. When there are children, Section 201.002(b)(3) gives the surviving spouse "a life estate in one-third of the person's land," with the remainder going to the children. Whether a house is community or separate depends on how and when it was acquired, so pull the deed before you draw the family tree.

### Step 3: Choose who signs

The form in Section 203.002 is written for an affiant who is "personally familiar with the family and marital history" of the person who died and has "personal knowledge of the facts stated." The statute does not set a number of signers. Ask the title company you plan to close with, in writing, who may sign and how many signers it needs before anyone books a notary.

### Step 4: Fill in the Section 203.002 form

The statutory form asks for:

1. the affiant's name and address, and the dates the affiant knew the person who died,
2. the date and place of death and the last residence,
3. the full marital history, including the date and place of a spouse's death if relevant,
4. every child, with birth date, the other parent's name and a current address, or the date of death and that child's descendants,
5. any other child the person had or adopted, or took into the home or raised, that is not already listed,
6. parents and siblings, if there were no descendants,
7. whether there was a will and whether there has been any administration of the estate,
8. unpaid debts and unpaid estate or inheritance taxes, or "none,"
9. the real property the person owned an interest in.

Item 5 trips families up. A stepchild who was raised in the house belongs on the form even if everyone assumes they do not inherit. Leaving people off is how a recorded affidavit turns into a title problem later.

### Step 5: Sign in front of a notary

Section 203.001(a)(1)(A) requires the instrument to be sworn to before, and certified by, an officer authorized to take oaths. The form ends with a jurat: "Sworn to and subscribed to before me," followed by the notary's signature, printed name, commission expiration and "Seal, if any, of notary." Bring a government photo ID and do not sign ahead of time.

### Step 6: Record it in the county deed records

The five-year clock in Section 203.001(a)(2) only runs once the affidavit is "of record" in the deed records. File it with the county clerk where the house sits. If the person lived in a different Texas county, ask your attorney whether to record it there as well, since the statute names both places. Ask the clerk's office for its current recording fee and page format before you go.

## What can an affidavit of heirship not do?

Three limits are written into the statute.

- **It does not cut off a missing heir.** Section 203.001(d) says the affidavit "does not affect the rights of an omitted heir or creditor of the decedent."
- **Anyone interested can prove it wrong.** Under Section 203.001(b), if there is an error in a recorded statement, an interested person "may prove the true facts."
- **It does not replace a court proceeding when one is needed.** Section 203.001(a) treats the affidavit as evidence in "a proceeding to declare heirship or a suit involving title to property." When the family tree is disputed, unclear, or missing a person nobody can find, ask a probate attorney whether you need a court proceeding to declare heirship.

One more rule protects buyers once time has passed. Section 256.003(c) says a person who buys in good faith, for value and without knowledge of a will, from the heirs "after the fourth anniversary of the decedent's death" holds good title as against a later-offered will. Ask your title company how it treats that date.

## How do you sell the house once the affidavit is recorded?

Every heir who owns a share is a seller. Ask the title company in writing which heirs, and which spouses, it needs to sign the deed. Before you take an offer, build a short packet:

- a certified copy of the death certificate,
- the recorded affidavit with its recording information,
- the last deed into the person who died,
- a list of every heir with current contact details, and
- payoff statements for any mortgage, tax or lien on the house.

Then compare your options with dates attached. A listing may bring a higher price but needs repairs, showings and a buyer whose title company accepts the affidavit. For an as-is cash sale, get the price and the steps in writing so you can compare. If the inherited house is in the Houston area and you need to [sell your house fast in Pasadena](https://www.fasthousebuying.com/cities/pasadena), get a written offer and a listing estimate side by side, then let the heirs decide together.

## What should the heirship folder hold?

- The death certificate and any obituary or funeral program that lists family members
- Marriage and divorce records for the person who died
- Birth or adoption records for each child
- The signed, notarized and recorded affidavit
- The title company's written list of what it needs to close
- A note of the fourth anniversary of the death, and of the date five years after recording

Written by the Fast House Buying team. We buy houses for cash in Texas, so we have a commercial interest in this topic. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.