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Tex. Est. Code § 355.001 · checked 2026-10-20
How long probate takes in Texas
Texas sets no fixed deadline that bars unsecured claims during administration: under Tex. Est. Code § 355.001 a claim may be presented at any time before the estate is closed. The estate's own pace — notices, inventory, sales, accounting — sets how long it stays open.
- 1Claim period No fixed bar
- 2Counted from Notice / letters
- 3Outer limit None stated
- 4Statute Tex. Est. Code § 355.001
The statute
“at any time before the estate is closed”
Source: Tex. Est. Code § 355.001 (read from the Public.Law copy: copy). Last checked 2026-10-20.
What sets the pace without a fixed bar
Because Tex. Est. Code § 355.001 lets a claim come in at any time before the estate is closed, the length of a Texas administration is driven by the work itself: gathering assets, paying or rejecting claims as they arrive, any sales, and the final accounting. The statute does not give the representative a date after which unsecured claims are cut off, so closing early carries the risk of a claim arriving afterwards. Where the estate fits, the small estate affidavit approved by the court under Tex. Est. Code § 205.001 avoids administration altogether: it is limited to estates of $75,000 or less, measured as the value of the estate assets on the date of the affidavit, excluding homestead and exempt property, and can be filed 30 days after the death — February 14, 2026 for a death on January 15, 2026.
Steps that add time
- Getting appointed. Nothing runs until no fixed bar for unsecured claims: a claim may be presented any time before the estate is closed; the time between the death and the petition is outside the statutory period.
- Notice. Published notice and notice mailed to known creditors start or shorten the claim period; a creditor who should have been mailed notice may get extra time.
- Real estate. Selling or transferring a house adds deeds, appraisals and sometimes a court order to the timeline.
- Accounting and closing. The final account, receipts from heirs and any tax filings come after the claim period ends.
Nearby West South Central timelines
Arkansas: 6 months.
Related: Texas small estate limit · creditor claim periods compared · executor timeline.
General information from the statute as written on 2026-10-20; not legal advice. Dates are worked examples of the statutory periods, not deadlines for any real estate. The Texas probate court and its clerk can confirm how the periods run in a given case.