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Standard Index GroupThe End of Life PlannerUnited States by Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney · Valoren is a publisher, not a law firm.

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What to do when someone dies in Texas

The first things Texas’s own law asks for after a death, quoted word for word, then the pages for everything that follows, in the order it usually comes. Nothing here decides what a particular family must do. That belongs to the office named, the court, or an attorney in Texas.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 11, 2026 – October 17, 2026

Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

Filing the death certificate: where, and how soon

Registering the death comes first. These are Texas’s own words on who files the record, and how soon.

(a) Not later than the 10th day after the date of a death that occurs in this state, a death certificate shall be filed with the local registrar of the registration district in which: (1) the death occurs; or (2) the body is found, if the place of death is not known.

Texas · general information · checked October 11, 2026 · Tex. Health & Safety Code §193.003

Who files the death certificate

The person in charge of interment or in charge of removal of a body from a registration district for disposition shall: (1) obtain and file the death certificate or fetal death certificate; … (4) file the certificate electronically as specified by the state registrar.

Texas · general information · checked October 11, 2026 · Tex. Health & Safety Code §193.002

What the person holding the will must do, what the clerk then does, and what the court can order

The will has its own rules. These are Texas’s own words on who brings it to the court after a death, and what the court does with it.

(a) On receiving notice of a testator's death, the person who has custody of the testator's will shall deliver the will to the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction of the testator's estate.

(a) On the deposit of a will under Section 252.201 that names an executor, the clerk of the court shall: (1) notify the person named as executor … and (2) deliver, on request, the will to the person named as executor.

On a sworn written complaint that a person has custody of the last will of a testator …, the judge of the court that has jurisdiction of the estate shall have the person cited by personal service to appear and show cause why the person should not deliver: (1) the will to the court for probate; …

Texas · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Tex. Est. Code §§252.201, 252.2015, 252.202

The first weeks

The estate: probate in Texas, its route for a smaller estate, what falls to whoever is settling it, and the accounts that pass outside the will.

FAQ

Common questions

(a) Not later than the 10th day after the date of a death that occurs in this state, a death certificate shall be filed with the local registrar of the registration district in which: (1) the death occurs; or (2) the body is found, if the place of death is not known.

The person in charge of interment or in charge of removal of a body from a registration district for disposition shall: (1) obtain and file the death certificate or fetal death certificate; … (4) file the certificate electronically as specified by the state registrar.

Texas · general information · checked October 11, 2026 · Tex. Health & Safety Code §193.002

(a) On receiving notice of a testator's death, the person who has custody of the testator's will shall deliver the will to the clerk of the court that has jurisdiction of the testator's estate.

(a) On the deposit of a will under Section 252.201 that names an executor, the clerk of the court shall: (1) notify the person named as executor … and (2) deliver, on request, the will to the person named as executor.

On a sworn written complaint that a person has custody of the last will of a testator …, the judge of the court that has jurisdiction of the estate shall have the person cited by personal service to appear and show cause why the person should not deliver: (1) the will to the court for probate; …

Texas · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Tex. Est. Code §§252.201, 252.2015, 252.202