Most Texas probates are independent, meaning the executor acts without asking the court’s permission for each step. A dependent administration is the opposite. The court supervises, and most significant acts require an order before they happen.
These are slower, more expensive, and more procedural than independent administrations. They are also unavoidable in certain situations, and they are where inexperienced counsel gets estates into trouble.
A dependent administration typically arises when:
Sometimes it is chosen deliberately. When the family is at war, court supervision protects the representative as much as it constrains them. Every major act is blessed by an order, which is a difficult thing to attack later.
A bond is required. Unlike most independent administrations, where the will waives bond, a dependent administrator posts a bond with a surety. The amount is set by the court based on the value of the estate, and the premium is an estate expense that recurs.
Court approval before selling property. The representative cannot simply sell a house, a vehicle, or a business interest. Selling estate property runs through the Estates Code’s sale procedures, which means an application, notice, a hearing, an order authorizing the sale, and in many cases a report of sale and an order confirming it after the fact. Buyers and title companies in Harris County are used to this, but it adds weeks.
Annual accounts. The representative files an annual account with the court, and it must be detailed enough that the court or an interested person can determine the true condition of the estate. These are not informal summaries. Poorly kept records at the start make every subsequent year worse.
Claims procedure. Creditor claims are presented, allowed or rejected, and classified by statutory priority rather than paid as the representative sees fit.
The practical consequence is that a dependent administration needs a representative who keeps real records from day one, and counsel who files the right application before the act rather than explaining it afterward.
Harris County has five statutory probate courts under Texas Government Code Section 25.1031(c):
Courts 1 through 4 are at 201 Caroline Street. Court No. 5 is at 1115 Congress Street.
Five dedicated probate courts is the largest such bench in Texas, and it matters here more than in a contested will case. A dependent administration means repeated returns to the same court over a period of years for sale applications, accounts, and fee approvals. You are not appearing once. You are building a record in front of one judge.
Most Texas counties have no statutory probate court at all and hear these matters in the constitutional county court, where the judge may not be a probate specialist and the docket is shared with everything else the county does. A dependent administration in Harris County is procedurally heavier but handled by a court that does this every day.
In a dependent administration the representative’s compensation and the attorney’s fees are subject to court approval. The Harris County probate courts publish standards for attorney fees, and fee applications are reviewed rather than rubber-stamped.
This is worth understanding before you engage anyone. The court controls what comes out of the estate, and an application that is not supported by contemporaneous time records and a clear benefit to the estate can be reduced.
Longer than an independent administration, and the difference is substantial. Where an independent administration might close within a year, a dependent administration commonly runs for years, because every sale, every distribution, and every significant payment carries an application, a notice period, a hearing, and an order.
Estates with real property in more than one county, mineral interests, or an operating business take longer still. So do estates where the previous representative left disorganized records.
Dependent administrations frequently sit alongside a fight. Heirs dispute the sale price of the family house. A beneficiary objects to the annual account. Someone moves to remove the administrator. An heirship determination is contested.
Those disputes are heard in the same court as the administration. And under the Harris County probate courts’ local rules, contested matters that have not been through a previously ordered alternative dispute resolution procedure generally will not be tried, except for good cause shown. Expect mediation before any contested hearing on the merits.
We handle dependent administrations, including ones that follow a removal and ones that were handled badly before we were brought in. We also handle the contested matters that arise inside them: objections to accounts, disputed sales, removal actions, and contested heirship.
Our minimum engagement is $10,000. A defined administration is quoted as a flat fee. Contested matters inside the administration are billed hourly against a retainer.
If what you need is a straightforward uncontested probate, a muniment of title, or a small estate affidavit, we are not the right firm and we will say so on the first call.
The first conversation is thirty minutes, no charge. Bring the cause number if one exists, a list of the estate’s assets, and a description of who the other interested parties are.
Schedule a consultation or call (281) 219-9090.