Texas probate law does not stand still, and neither does the Texas Probate System. Aside from the major updates resulting from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act[1], the 2026 edition captures a round of statutory changes from the 2025 legislative session, and five entirely new special instructions addressing limitations, needs-based benefits, appointment of successor personal representatives, administration of estates with revocable trusts, and asset discovery procedures. Here are the highlights.

Introduction to the Texas Probate System

As its telling title reveals, the Texas Probate System is a practice system. Like a seasoned mentor, the Texas Probate System guides practitioners through every stage of a probate matter from selection of the proper probate procedure through the distribution of the estate assets, and along the way provides answers to both commonplace questions and conundrums that arise in the context of administration of decedents’ estates.

The Texas Probate System achieves this through integrated components that work together: special instructions explain the substantive and procedural issues practitioners will encounter; customizable form templates reflect current statutory requirements; letter templates enable efficient communication with clients, institutions, and agencies. The hallmark of the Texas Probate System, the Checkplan, sequences tasks of a probate procedure – from initiation through final distribution of assets, while identifying the appropriate forms and letters required at each stage; a significant dates list helps manage deadlines; and master instruction lists coordinate all those components. When the law, procedure, or practice change, each of those components is updated in concert.

Statutory Changes from the 2025 Legislative Session

The 2026 edition of the Texas Probate System reflects several amendments to the Texas Estates Code that took effect September 1, 2025.

The new Estates Code, Section 51.057 has resolved the question of citation and notice when a person survived the decedent but has since also died. Special Instruction 16, “Citation and Notice” addresses this change. For proceedings commenced after September 1, 2025, citation or notice must be directed to the personal representative of the estate, or the distributees of the decedent’s estate if the administration is closed, no administration is pending, or the estate was settled through alternative procedures. If, however, no personal representative has been appointed and no distributees have been judicially determined, then service must be made by publication.

Changes affecting the inventory, appraisement, and list of claims are reflected in Special Instruction 23, “Inventory, Appraisement, and List of Claims.” The statutory inventory must now state whether the decedent was married at the time of death and, if so, specify which property and which claims are separate and which are community. Forms 22 and 36 have also been updated to capture this change. Another update to this Special Instruction incorporates the new Estates Code § 116.003, which authorizes owners of manufactured homes to designate beneficiaries to receive their interest at death through a non-testamentary, revocable transfer. Practitioners should beware of the deadline under Texas Occupations Code, Section 1201.2135(c-1); failure to apply for issuance of statement of ownership and to submit proof of the owner’s death within 365 days of the owner’s death voids such beneficiary designation.

Special Instruction 85, “Wills Not Produced,” includes updated Estates Code, Section 256.156. If a copy of a lost will includes a self-proving affidavit, it is sufficient to make the will self-proved. Also, this Special Instruction incorporates the amended Estates Code, Section 256.202. When a copy of the will exists or can be printed, a paper copy must be deposited with the clerk of the court subject to the same rules as if it were an original will.

Five New Special Instructions

The 2026 edition adds five new special instructions, each addressing an area frequently encountered in practice. The following four have impact on every practitioner’s day-to-day probate practice.

Special Instruction 99, “Limitations,” addresses a topic that should be at the top of every practitioner’s mind but is easy to overlook until it becomes a crisis. The instruction covers attorneys' duties regarding statutes of limitations, the risks involved when advising prospective clients about approaching deadlines, updated authority on jurisdictional limitations requirements in suits against governmental units, and a reference guide to common civil and probate limitations periods.

The Texas Probate System now includes guidance on handling Medicaid Estate Recovery Program claims, coordinating needs-based benefits, and utilizing available planning tools — transfer on death deeds, enhanced life-estate deeds, and supplemental needs trusts created through post-mortem will reformation. A general overview of these issues, as they relate to administration of decedent’s estates, is provided in Special Instruction 100, “Needs-Based Benefits.” The Checkplan has been updated to cross-reference this Special Instruction at the stages where these considerations most commonly arise.

What happens when the appointed personal representative fails to qualify or, after qualifying, dies, resigns, or is removed? Special Instruction 101, “Appointment of Successor Personal Representatives” has the answer. The instruction covers circumstances that create a vacancy, the procedure for emergency appointment without notice, application and affidavit requirements including information regarding estate assets for purposes of determining bond in dependent administration, the rules governing successor independent administration where no named executor can serve, and the successor's powers, duties, and inventory obligations. A new form — Form 154, the Affidavit of Successor Personal Representative — supports this instruction.

Finally, if a revocable trust was created and funded during decedent’s lifetime, estate administration may not be necessary. In practice, this is rarely the case. Special Instruction 102, “Revocable Trusts,” addresses the coordination issues that arise when a decedent’s estate involves a revocable living trust. These include determining whether probate is required for assets not transferred to the trust during lifetime, defining the boundary between estate administration and trust administration, and resolving issues when the personal representative and the trustee are the same individual — including statutory notice to will beneficiaries and federal estate tax reporting obligations for trust assets. Certain elections – such as Section 645 election – require agreement of both executor and trustee. Additional engagement and closing letter provisions address and limit the scope of representation in these circumstances.

Forms and Workflow

Beyond the new special instructions, the 2026 edition includes a round of form updates that affect day-to-day estate administration. Forms 22 and 36 now include the marital status and community and separate property fields required by the amended Estates Code inventory provisions. Forms 42 and 44 have been revised to reflect the court's obligation to review the estate's bond for sufficiency and increase it if needed following a real property sale. Form 67 and Form 68 include updated surety release language.

Keeping Current

What the 2026 edition of the Texas Probate System reflects, taken as a whole, is a practice area that has advanced — legislatively, administratively, and in the problems that practitioners face in their work. Written by practitioners for practitioners, the Texas Probate System has evolved to meet those changing needs.

[1] OBBBA requires no further publicity, and therefore the Texas Probate System updates flowing from it are not highlighted here.