Texas Small Estate Affidavit · Last verified 2026-09-24
Why Texas Small Estate Affidavits get rejected
The Travis County and Bexar County probate courts publish checklists because, in their words, many SEAs are denied for problems that can't be fixed and applicants lose their filing fees. Travis County found that over half of the SEAs filed there did not provide all the information required.
Problems that can't be fixed
- The decedent had a will. Chapter 205 is for intestate estates only. §205.001
- Assets over $75,000, not counting homestead and exempt property. §205.001(3)
- Assets not worth more than the debts. When comparing, leave out homestead and exempt property and debts secured by them. Distributees can pay down debts to fix this.
- Real property other than the homestead, or a homestead that would pass to someone who was not homesteading with the decedent. §205.008(b) The court checks the real property records before approving.
- An heir can't be located or refuses to sign, and no one with legal authority signs for them. §205.002
- Wrong county: the decedent did not reside in the county where you filed, without other facts supporting venue.
- Travis County only: any heir under 18.
Mistakes that get affidavits denied as filed
- Not using the form the county court requires. Travis County administrative orders requiring the court's SEA form (PDF)
- Leaving blanks where the form requires an answer.
- Describing assets without enough detail to identify them (for example, no VIN or last four account digits).
- Listing an asset with an "unknown" value.
- For a married decedent, not stating facts showing whether each asset is separate or community property.
- Not listing all heirs, or getting their shares wrong.
- Leaving heirship chart columns empty: both separate-property columns, plus the community-property column if the decedent was married.
- Leaving the debts section blank instead of writing "none".
- Skipping the Medicaid question (Travis checklist item 10).
Source: Travis County Small Estate Affidavit checklist (PDF, updated Oct. 1, 2024); Bexar County Probate Court No. 2 SEA checklist (PDF, updated Jan. 18, 2019). The Bexar checklist is dated 2019; the Travis checklist was updated October 1, 2024.
About this page
- Applies to
- Texas, United States only. Rules in other states differ.
- Official basis
- Last verified
- : every fact on this page was checked against the sources above on this date.
- Review status
- Not yet reviewed by a licensed Texas attorney Prepared from the primary sources listed. When a licensed Texas attorney reviews this page, their name and the review date will appear here.
- The tool can
- Screens the Chapter 205 stop conditions courts list most often
- Organizes an asset and debt worksheet and signer roles
- Shows verified county fees and forms for Travis, Harris, and Bexar
- Produces a checklist you can download, copy, email to yourself, save, or print
- The tool cannot
- Decide legal eligibility or who the heirs are
- Fill out or file the court's form
- Guarantee that a judge will approve the affidavit
- Give legal advice or represent you
- When rules change
- We re-check these sources at least every 90 days and after each regular Texas legislative session. When a statute, court form, or county fee changes, we update the tool and this page, change the date above, and record the change in the Texas rule update log (feed).
Common questions
Can a rejected Small Estate Affidavit be refiled?
Some can be corrected and refiled, but the Travis and Bexar probate courts warn that many are denied for problems that can't be fixed, such as a will or non-homestead real property, and the filing fee is lost.
Why does the court need values for every asset?
Without a value for every asset, the court can't tell whether the estate is within the $75,000 limit or whether assets exceed debts, so the Travis and Bexar courts say an asset of unknown value prevents approval.