Texas Estates Code Subtitle E: Intestate Succession

Subtitle E of the Texas Estates Code governs intestate succession—the rules that determine who inherits a decedent’s property when the decedent dies without a valid will.

These provisions apply only when:

• the decedent dies intestate, in whole or in part; and
• no valid testamentary instrument disposes of the property at issue.

Subtitle E does not determine:

• how heirs are identified or proved (see Chapters 202–204); or
• how estate property is administered, managed, or distributed procedurally.

Instead, Subtitle E answers a narrower—but critical—question:

Who is entitled to inherit, and in what shares, when Texas intestacy law applies?

Structure of Subtitle E

Subtitle E consists of several interrelated chapters, each serving a distinct function:

• Chapter 201 — Descent and Distribution
  Establishes the substantive rules of intestate inheritance.

• Chapter 202 — Determination of Heirship
  Governs judicial proceedings to determine who the heirs are.

• Chapter 203 — Nonjudicial Evidence of Heirship
  Addresses affidavits of heirship and their evidentiary effect.

• Chapter 204 — Genetic Testing in Proceedings to Declare Heirship
  Provides rules for genetic testing in heirship determinations.

Key Feature of Texas Intestacy Law

Texas intestacy law is unusually complex because inheritance depends not only on family relationships, but also on:

• marital status;
• characterization of property as community or separate;
• whether property is real or personal; and
• special statutory rules affecting particular classes of heirs.

For that reason, Subtitle E must be read alongside other parts of the Estates Code and Texas property law.