Texas Intestate Succession Calculator

What is intestate succession in Texas?

Intestate succession is the set of rules that decides who inherits when someone dies without a valid will. In Texas these rules live in the Texas Estates Code, Chapter 201 (Secs. 201.001 to 201.003). The state, not you, decides who receives your property, and the split depends on whether you are married, whether you have children, and whether your property is community or separate.

Community vs separate property

Texas is a community property state. Property built during the marriage is generally community property, and each spouse already owns one-half of it. Property a spouse owned before the marriage, or received during the marriage by gift or inheritance, is separate property. Intestacy treats the two very differently, so the calculator asks you to pick the type of property before it can show the split.

Spouse and children

• Community property, shared children only: the surviving spouse inherits all of the community property (Sec. 201.003).
• Community property, a child from outside the marriage: the deceased spouse's one-half of the community property passes to all of the deceased's children equally; the surviving spouse keeps only their own one-half.
• Separate property with children: the surviving spouse takes one-third of the separate personal property and a one-third life estate in the separate real property; the children take two-thirds of the personal property and the remainder of the land (Sec. 201.002).
• Separate property, no children: the surviving spouse takes all separate personal property and one-half of the separate real property; the other half passes to the deceased's parents or siblings, and if there are none, all of it goes to the spouse.

No spouse, or no children

With no surviving spouse, the entire estate passes to the children in equal shares (Sec. 201.001). If there are no children or other descendants, the estate goes up the family tree: first to the parents, then to siblings and their descendants, and then to more distant relatives. A share for a child who died before you generally passes to that child's own descendants.

Learn more

• Texas Estates Code, Chapter 201 (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)
• Sec. 201.002 - Separate Estate of an Intestate
• Sec. 201.003 - Community Estate of an Intestate
• Guides on wills, probate and inheritance