Texas Bar Journal • September 2025

The Legislative Update

Estate, Guardianship, And Trust Law

Written by Lauren Davis Hunt

There were fewer changes to the law affecting decedents’ estates, guardianships, and trusts this session. However, there are a handful of important changes of which practitioners should be aware. This article contains highlights only and should not be relied on as a complete list of bills affecting these areas or a full description of any bill. See the TexasBarCLE webcast “Legislative Update 2025: Estate and Trust Law” or the “Legislative Update” paper presented at the Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course, available on the reptl.org website for State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law Section members. All bills are effective September 1, 2025, unless otherwise noted.

Decedent’s Estates

HB 3421 provides that statutory probate courts must deliver orders to parties through the state’s electronic filing system. When an inventory, appraisement, and list of claims is filed in a decedent’s estate, the document should state whether the decedent was married at date of death and only specify the separate and community nature of the assets if the decedent was married. Within seven days of their appointment, a temporary administrator must file proof they gave notice of the appointment to the heirs by qualified delivery method.

When a probate case is transferred to another court, the original will or paper copy of a will not produced in court must be delivered to a transferee court by qualified delivery method, with cost of delivery paid by the party requesting the transfer. The law regarding proving up a copy of a will not produced in court is modified to make clear that a copy of a self-proving affidavit attached to a copy of a will is sufficient to make the copy of the will self-proving. If a paper copy of a will not produced in court is filed with the clerk, the paper copy must be retained by the clerk in the same manner as the original will. A court may adjust, correct, settle, allow, or disallow a personal representative’s account without notice insmall estate proceedings, and the new law clarifies that in such cases, citation need not be issued.

SB 1448 is identical to HB 3421, with one addition: When an estate proceeding is initiated for a decedent and one of the persons required to receive notice of the proceeding thereafter dies, the law now provides to whom notice must be given regarding that person’s interest. If there is no court order determining the distributees of the estate of the person, and if no personal representative has been appointed for that person’s estate, then service must be made on unknown distributees by publication and the court may appoint an attorney ad litem.

SB 1335 allows a court that is removing a personal representative on its own motion to provide notice by qualified delivery method, rather than personal service. Upon closing an estate, the court should terminate the personal representative’s letters and release and discharge sureties on the personal representative’s bond. SB 2064 exempts motor vehicles received from decedent’s estates from gift tax, saving $10. SJR 18 proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of capital gains tax and HJR 2 proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of estate, gift, or generation skipping transfer tax. These two amendments will be presented to voters in an election for constitutional amendment on November 4, 2025. SB 1379 provides the forgery of a will, codicil, deed, or other listed instrument is now a third-degree felony rather than a state jail felony.

Guardianship

SB 746 clarifies a court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent a proposed ward, in addition to an incapacitated person. Where a person is determined to have an interest adverse to the ward, the statute is expanded to provide such person cannot apply for appointment of a guardian, file a motion to request removal, or contest a request for removal of a guardian. When a guardian files an annual report or annual account, the court must enter an order either approving the account/report or requiring the guardian to file a new account/ report within 30 days of the court’s order.

SB 1760 provides that when a guardianship is transferred, the sureties on the guardian’s bond must be notified by qualified delivery method and the transferring clerk must issue a certified index of the transferred documents and include any papers previously received from other courts. The clerk must keep a copy of all transferred documents and the fee to transfer is $80 payable to the transferee court and no other fee may be assessed by the transferee clerk. A guardian of the estate can deposit cash in the registry of the court in lieu of giving surety on a bond, and the court must issue a receipt. A guardian of the person has a duty to notify the court when: the ward has died, the ward is admitted to acute care for three or more days,the ward’s residence or address has changed, or the guardian’s contact information has changed. The guardian of the estate now has greater ability to spend money for the maintenance and education of the ward’s minor or incapacitated adult children and the guardian must provide proof of delivery of notice of the application for allowance. Guardians must attach the following additional documents to an annual accounting: complete banking and investment statements, receipts for
all purchases/expenditures, documentation substantiating all expenses paid including ATM withdrawals, and a bill of sale from the purchaser of personal property sold during the accounting period. Upon discharge of a guardian, the court must issue an order canceling letters of guardianship. When a guardian of the estate files an accounting for final settlement, the guardian must file an affidavit or attorney’s certificate naming the persons served or who waived service and that each person entitled to citation was provided a copy of the accounting. In an application for temporary guardianship, personal service is required on the proposed ward and proposed temporary guardian.

SB 66 addresses supported decision-making agreements and orders a study to be conducted on legal and ethical implications of authorizing a supporter to assist an adult with a disability with legal proceedings. HB 3376 requires guardians other than attorneys, corporate fiduciaries, and guardians meeting certification requirements to participate in a free annual one-hour training course relating to aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia if the ward is 60 or older or younger than 60 and was earlier diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or a related disorder. The court may waive this training requirement.

SB 5 and SJR 3 establish an institute in Texas to create and expedite innovation in dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease research and attract research capabilities of colleges and universities in Texas. The creation of the institute is contingent on voter approval of the constitutional amendment, SJR 3, which will be presented to the voters in an election on November 4, 2025.

Trusts

No legislative changes.

Non-Probate Transfers

SB 1940 allows the owner of a manufactured home that has been classified as personal property to make a revocable beneficiary designation and cause the home to pass to one or more beneficiaries as a non-probate transfer. The designated beneficiar(ies) must submit an application to the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs within one year of the owner’s death, or the beneficiary designation is void.

Notaries

SB 693 requires up to two hours of education for notaries and creates a Class A misdemeanor if a notary notarizes a document when the signer did not personally appear before the notary. The penalty increases to a state jail felony if it involves transfer of real property. Notaries must keep certain records for 10 years from the date of notarization.

Void Marriages and Divorce Decrees

Texas Family Code § 6.202 provides that a marriage is void if either party has an undissolved prior marriage at the time of the later marriage, but the later marriage becomes valid once the prior marriage is dissolved if the parties to the later marriage live together and represent themselves as spouses following dissolution of the prior marriage. HB 2240 provides that if a party to the later marriage did not know that the other person was still married at the time of the later marriage, that person can file suit to declare the later marriage void if done within 30 days after learning of the preexisting marriage. The bill also voids a decree of divorce or annulment if the court rendering the decree lacked jurisdiction because the marriage was void under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the marriage was consummated. This bill became effective June 20, 2025.

Special Session on Recording Affidavits of Heirship and Deeds

SB 648 created extra requirements for a person to record a real property instrument, including an affidavit of heirship if the recorder is not an attorney, title company, or escrow company. The governor vetoed SB 648 on June 22, 2025. On July 9, 2025, the governor issued a proclamation calling for a special session to begin on July 21, 2025. Eighteen items were included on the agenda, including legislation to address the following: Legislation, similar to SB 648 from the 89th Legislature, Regular Session, that provides strengthened protections against title theft and deed fraud.

LAUREN DAVIS HUNT is a partner in Osborne, Helman, Scott, Knisely & Stanton, where she practices trust and estate litigation. She recently served as the co-chair of the Estates and Trusts Legislative Affairs Committee with the Texas Real Estate & Probate Institute (T-REP) and is the treasurer of the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate & Trust Law Section (REPTL).