In a dependent administration, the court supervises the estate and most significant acts need a court order before they happen. That’s the reverse of the independent administrations most Texas families go through, where the executor acts without asking the court’s permission for each step.
Dependent administrations take longer, cost more and involve more procedure. In some situations you can’t avoid one, and they’re where inexperienced counsel most often gets an estate into trouble.
A dependent administration typically arises when:
Sometimes a family picks it on purpose. When relatives are at war, court supervision protects the representative as much as it limits them, because each major act is backed by a signed order that’s hard to attack later.
A bond. The representative generally has to post a bond before letters issue, unless a will waives it or the representative is a corporate fiduciary. The judge sets the amount at a level that protects the estate and its creditors, and the bond premium comes due again every year the administration stays open.
Court approval before selling property. The representative can’t simply sell a house, a vehicle or a business interest. Estate property generally can’t be sold without an order authorizing the sale, so the process runs through an application, notice, a hearing and an order, and in many cases a report of sale and a second order confirming it. Buyers and title companies in Harris County are used to this, but it adds weeks.
Annual accounts. The representative files an account with the court within 60 days after each anniversary of qualifying, unless the court extends the deadline. The account has to show the true condition of the estate in enough detail that the court or an interested person can follow it. These are formal sworn filings, and records that were poorly kept at the start make every later year harder.
Claims procedure. Creditor claims are presented, then allowed or rejected, and paid in the order set by the Estates Code’s priority classes.
In practice, a dependent administration needs a representative who keeps real records from day one and counsel who files the right application before the act happens.
Harris County has five statutory probate courts under Texas Government Code Section 25.1031(c):
Probate Courts No. 1 through 4 sit at the Harris County Civil Courthouse, 201 Caroline Street. Probate Court No. 5 sits at 1115 Congress Street, 5th Floor.
That’s the largest probate bench in Texas, and it matters more in a dependent administration than in a will contest. You’ll be back in front of the same court for years with sale applications, accounts and fee approvals, so you’re building a record with one judge over the life of the estate.
Most Texas counties have no statutory probate court at all. They 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 handles. A Harris County dependent administration carries more procedure, but the court handling it does this work every day.
In a dependent administration, both the representative’s compensation and the attorney’s fees need court approval. The Harris County probate courts publish standards for attorney fees, and they review fee applications closely.
Understand this before you hire anyone. The court controls what comes out of the estate, and it can reduce a fee application that isn’t supported by contemporaneous time records and a clear benefit to the estate.
A dependent administration takes substantially longer than an independent one. An independent administration might close within a year, while a dependent administration commonly runs for years, because each sale, distribution and significant payment needs its own application, notice period, hearing and 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 often come with a fight attached. Heirs dispute the sale price of the family house, a beneficiary objects to the annual account, someone moves to remove the administrator, or an heirship determination is contested.
The Harris County probate courts’ local rules treat objections to sales, fees and accountings, along with removal of a representative, as core matters filed under the estate’s main cause number, so those disputes are heard in the same court as the administration. The local rules also provide that, except for good cause shown, only cases that have been through a previously ordered alternative dispute resolution procedure will be tried. Plan on 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 come up inside them: objections to accounts, disputed sales, removal actions and contested heirship.
If what you need is a simple uncontested probate, a muniment of title or a small estate affidavit, we’re not the right firm, and we’ll tell you so on the first call.
The first conversation is a short call, and it’s free. Bring the cause number if there is one, a list of the estate’s assets and a description of the other interested parties.
Schedule a consultation or call (281) 219-9090.