Texas Affidavit of Heirship: Free Template (§ 203.002)

Affidavit of Facts Concerning the Identity of Heirs (Texas)

After recording, return to:
[Name]
[Mailing Address]

AFFIDAVIT OF FACTS CONCERNING THE IDENTITY OF HEIRS

Decedent: [Decedent’s Full Legal Name]
Date of death: [Date]
County where the real property is located: [County] County, Texas

Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared [Affiant’s Full Name] (“Affiant”) who, being first duly sworn, upon [his/her] oath states:

1. Affiant

My name is [Affiant’s Full Name], and I live at [Affiant’s Residence Address]. I am personally familiar with the family and marital history of [Decedent’s Full Legal Name] (“Decedent”), and I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this affidavit.

[Choose one:] I am not an heir of Decedent, and I will receive no part of Decedent’s estate. / I am Decedent’s [relationship], and I will receive no part of Decedent’s estate.

2. Acquaintance and Death

I knew Decedent from [Date or Year You Met Decedent] until [Date of Death]. Decedent died on [Date of Death]. Decedent’s place of death was [City, County, State]. At the time of Decedent’s death, Decedent’s residence was [Address, County].

3. Marital History

Decedent’s marital history was as follows:

• [Spouse’s Full Name], married on [Date] in [City, State] ([ceremonial marriage / informal (common-law) marriage]). The marriage [continued until Decedent’s death / ended by the spouse’s death on [Date] in [City, State] / ended by divorce or annulment in Cause No. [Number], [Court], [County] County, [State], on [Date]].

• [Repeat for each marriage. If Decedent never married, delete the line above and write “none”.]

At Decedent’s death, Decedent was [married to [Spouse’s Full Name] / not married].

[If married: [Spouse’s Full Name] survived Decedent by at least 120 hours (five days).]

4. Children

Decedent had the following children:

• [Child’s Full Name], born [Date] [if adopted: adopted on [Date], [Court], [County] County, [State]]; other parent: [Name]; also a child of the surviving spouse: [yes / no / no surviving spouse]; [current address: [Address] / died on [Date], leaving these descendants: [names and addresses, or “none”]].

• [Repeat for each child. If Decedent had no children, delete the line above and write “none”.]

5. Other Children

Decedent did not have or adopt any other children and did not take any other children into Decedent’s home or raise any other children, except: [Name of each child Decedent raised but did not adopt, labeled “stepchild,” “foster child” or “raised by Decedent,” or state “none”].

6. Mother

[Include if Decedent was not survived by descendants; otherwise write “Not applicable.”] Decedent’s mother was: [Name and birth date; current address, or date of death].

7. Father

[Include if Decedent was not survived by descendants; otherwise write “Not applicable.”] Decedent’s father was: [Name and birth date; current address, or date of death].

8. Siblings

[Include if Decedent was not survived by descendants or by both mother and father; otherwise write “Not applicable.”] Decedent had the following siblings:

• [Sibling’s Full Name], born [Date]; parents: [Names] ([same two parents as Decedent / one parent in common]); [current address: [Address] / died on [Date], leaving these descendants: [names and addresses, or “none”]].

• [Repeat for each sibling. If Decedent had no siblings, delete the line above and write “none”.]

9. Other Persons With Knowledge (Optional)

The following persons have knowledge regarding Decedent, the identity of Decedent’s children, if any, parents, or siblings, if any: [Names, or state “none”].

10. Will

Decedent died without leaving a written will. [If there was a will, replace this sentence with: Decedent left a written will dated [Date]; [it has not been offered for probate / it was probated in Cause No. [Number], [Court], [County] County, Texas].]

11. Administration

There has been no administration of Decedent’s estate. [If there was an administration, replace this sentence with the court, county, cause number and status.]

12. Debts

Decedent left no debts that are unpaid, except: [List, including any mortgage on the property, or state “none”].

13. Taxes

There are no unpaid estate or inheritance taxes, except: [List, or state “none”].

14. Real Property

To the best of my knowledge, Decedent owned an interest in the following real property: [Street Address], [County] County, Texas, more particularly described in Exhibit A, being the property conveyed to [Name(s) of the Buyer(s) on That Deed] by deed recorded as [Instrument No. [Number] / Volume [Number], Page [Number]] of the [Official Public / Deed] Records of [County] County, Texas (as shown on the recording stamp).

Decedent acquired this property [before marrying [Spouse’s Full Name] / during the marriage to [Spouse’s Full Name] / by gift or inheritance]. [Or, if you do not know: I do not know when or how Decedent acquired this property.]

[Add a paragraph for each other property in which Decedent owned an interest, with its county and recording reference (Exhibit B, C and so on), or state “Decedent owned no other real property.”]

15. Heirs (Optional)

The following were the heirs of Decedent: [Name, relationship to Decedent, address and share (for example, 1/3) of each heir. If you are unsure of the shares, list the names only.]

16. Additional Information

[Insert additional information as appropriate, such as the approximate size of Decedent’s estate, whether the property was Decedent’s homestead, and who lives in it now.]

Signed this [Day] day of [Month], [Year].

___________________________
(signature of affiant)
[Affiant’s Printed Name]

State of [State]
County of [County]

Sworn to and subscribed to before me on [Date] by [Affiant’s Full Name].

[If notarized online: This notarization was performed as an online notarization. Affiant’s signature is [a tangible symbol / an electronic signature].]

___________________________
(signature of notarial officer)
(Seal, if any, of notary)
[Notary’s Printed Name]
My commission expires: [Date]

Exhibit A: Legal Description

[Copy the legal description exactly from the deed that vested title in Decedent: lot, block, subdivision and plat reference, or metes and bounds.]

Before You Sign and Record (Delete This Section)

• One affidavit per person. This template follows the single-affiant form in Texas Estates Code § 203.002, which is optional (“may be in substantially the following form”). Have two people who knew the family and inherit nothing each sign their own copy before a notary. Chapter 203 sets no minimum number of affiants, but live testimony in open court in an heirship case comes from two disinterested and credible witnesses (§ 202.151(b)(1)), TexasLawHelp advises two, and a title company may ask for the same. Some county forms put two affiants on one document; ask the clerk whether one combined filing is accepted.

• Who can sign. A person with personal knowledge of the family, such as a longtime friend or neighbor. If no unrelated person can be found, a relative who receives nothing from the estate may sign.

• List everyone, and write “none” instead of leaving a blank. List every child, including children who died (with their descendants), children from other relationships, adopted children and any child Decedent raised (§§ 201.054, 201.101). For siblings, give each sibling’s parents: when there are both whole-blood and half-blood siblings, each half-blood sibling takes half as much (§ 201.057).

• Shares. Check whether the property is community or separate, and apply the rule for children who are not also the surviving spouse’s (§ 201.003(c)), before you fill in item 15 (§§ 201.002–201.003). If you are unsure, list the heirs without shares; a title company or lawyer can work them out from items 3–8.

• Record it. Record each signed affidavit in the deed records of the Texas county where the land is. Either that county or the Texas county where Decedent lived counts for § 203.001(a)(2); recording in both is a common precaution. Once it has been of record for five years, a court in an heirship proceeding or title suit must receive it as prima facie evidence; anyone can still prove the true facts, and it does not affect an omitted heir or a creditor (§ 203.001(b), (d)).

• At the clerk’s office. Bring photo ID if you file in person (Local Government Code § 191.010). Call the clerk for the fee: the statutory base is $5 for the first page and $4 for each additional page, plus county add-on fees (§ 118.011).

• No Social Security numbers. Leave them out of the document (Property Code § 11.008(b)). If you attach a death certificate, it becomes a public record.

• Online notarization. A Texas online notary may notarize it; the certificate must say that it was an online notarization and whether the signature was a tangible symbol or an electronic signature (Government Code § 406.110(d)). Ask the county clerk and the title company whether they accept it. Delete the online-notarization line if it does not apply.

• When this is not enough. If there is a will, a dispute, a missing or unknown heir, a paternity or adoption question, or the title company says no, see a lawyer about a court determination of heirship (Estates Code ch. 202) or probate.

• Other property. For bank accounts and other personal property when there is no will and the estate is $75,000 or less (not counting the homestead and exempt property), use the small estate affidavit (ch. 205). For a car, use TxDMV Form VTR-262.

• Tell the truth. A false statement under oath made with intent to deceive is perjury (Penal Code § 37.02), and intentionally or knowingly making a materially false written statement to obtain real property is the felony of real property fraud (§ 32.60).

• This is not legal advice. Talk to a Texas probate attorney if anything is unclear.