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If you were married but never had children or they predeceased you, your spouse inherits all of your separate personal property and your half of the community property.

Good to know: A Will may only be probated within 4 years of the death of a property owner in most cases. If this timeframe has lapsed, an Affidavit of Heirship may be a useful alternative as it can be filed at any time.

An affidavit of heirship can be used when someone dies without a will, and the estate consists mostly of real property titled in the deceased's name. It is an affidavit used to identify the heirs to real property when the deceased died without a will (that is, intestate).

Once the affidavit has been recorded, the heirs are identified in the property records as the new owners of the property. Thereafter, the heir or heirs may transfer or sell the property if they choose to do so. At that point, the deed most commonly used to transfer the property is a General Warranty Deed.

The surviving spouse automatically receives all community property. Separate personal property also goes completely to the surviving spouse, while separate real property is split down the middle between the surviving spouse and the deceased's parents, siblings or siblings' descendants, in that order.

Inheritances & Comingling Funds Under Texas law, inheritances are separate property not subject to division in divorce, even if assets are inherited during the course of a marriage.

The claimant must file this completed affidavit in the County Clerk's record in the county of the decedent's residence. The claimant must then upload a file stamped copy of the completed affidavit to ClaimItTexas.org.

In Texas, a married couple can agree in writing that all or part of their community property will go to the surviving spouse when one person dies. This is called a right of survivorship agreement. The right of survivorship agreement must be filed with the county court records where the couple lives.

1. This form should be completed by someone other than an Heir. This person should be someone who is familiar with the family history of the deceased (decedent), and who will obtain no benefit from the Estate. The person who fills out the form is referred to as the “AFFIANT”.

If a husband or wife dies without a will and they have a surviving spouse and children together, the surviving spouse inherits the decedent's half of the couple's community property and one-third of the decedent's separate property.