Texas
Texas doesn't have one heir-claim rule — it has a ladder, set by the Comptroller's own rule (34 TAC §13.9), and the rung you're on is decided by the amount. File the wrong tier's paper and the claim comes back. Here is the ladder exactly as the rule builds it, plus the will trap that catches Texas families who skip the fine print.
| Claim amount | The heirship proof Texas demands |
|---|---|
| $5,000 or less | An heirship affidavit — a sworn statement of the family history, signed by two disinterested witnesses (people who know the family but stand to gain nothing) |
| $5,001 – $10,000 | The same heirship affidavit, recorded in the county records |
| $10,001 – $75,000 | The small-estate affidavit under Estates Code chapter 205 — intestate only, and see its conditions below |
| Over $75,000 | A judicial Determination of Heirship — a court proceeding that names the heirs |
34 TAC §13.9, as published by the Texas Comptroller. The Comptroller may waive or substitute proof in individual cases — the ladder is the default, not a promise in either direction.
Texas pays the beneficiaries of an unprobated will only in a narrow case: the claim is under $10,000 AND the will's beneficiaries are the same people who would inherit without a will. Outside that case, the Comptroller looks for probate or a court order. And if the route is an independent administrator, the appointment must happen within 4 years of the death (§74.501(d)(3)) — a clock that quietly expires on old deaths while families deliberate. If the death is old and a will exists, read this section twice and consider counsel before the four years run.
Texas's program is run by the Comptroller at ClaimItTexas.gov — free to search and file. Texas takes heir claims through its online system; the checker places your amount on the ladder and prints your chain.
Run your own claim. The free checker takes your state, your relationship, and your amount — and returns the probate-skip verdict, your document chain in order, the signatures you'll need, and the finder fee you'd avoid. Run the checker →
The pages above are the map. The kit is the paperwork: the per-state checklists, the Table of Heirs worksheet, the letters that line up every heir's signature, and the chapter for the state's reply.
One payment, yours to keep. We never file for you and never touch your money — you file everything yourself, with the state. See everything inside the kit →