Texas Estates Code Sec. 201.058: Convicted Persons

This section addresses the limited effect of criminal convictions on inheritance and property rights under Texas law, including a specific exception for certain life insurance proceeds.

The Statutory Rule

Sec. 201.058. CONVICTED PERSONS.

(a) No conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate except as provided by Subsection (b).

(b) If a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or contract is convicted and sentenced as a principal or accomplice in wilfully bringing about the death of the insured, the proceeds of the insurance policy or contract shall be paid in the manner provided by the Insurance Code.

Explanation

What it does: This section confirms that, as a general rule, a criminal conviction does not strip a person of inheritance rights or cause forfeiture of property, except in the specific circumstance described in Subsection (b).

General rule: A conviction alone does not result in:

• corruption of blood; or
• forfeiture of the convicted person’s estate.

In other words, criminal liability does not, by itself, alter intestate inheritance rights.

Life insurance exception: If a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or contract is:

• convicted and sentenced as a principal or accomplice; and
• found to have wilfully brought about the death of the insured,

then the proceeds of the policy are not paid to that beneficiary, but instead are distributed as directed by the Texas Insurance Code.

Key concept: This section preserves inheritance rights despite criminal conviction, while carving out a narrow, statute-specific exception for life insurance proceeds in cases involving intentional killing of the insured.

Practice note: This section does not establish a general “slayer rule” for intestate succession. Its scope is limited to the treatment of life insurance proceeds as expressly provided.