What to Do When a Bank or the DMV Won't Accept a Texas Small Estate Affidavit

Check what you handed over

Before you push back, compare what you gave them with what Chapter 205 and the court require:

• A judge signed the order approving the affidavit. Section 205.001 entitles the heirs to the property only after that approval.
• The signed order was filed with the clerk. TexasLawHelp warns that the case isn't final until you file it.
• You gave a copy certified by the court clerk, not a photocopy. Section 205.004 requires a certified copy for anyone who owes the estate money, holds its property, or acts as a registrar or transfer agent for it.
• The affidavit lists the asset. Section 205.002 requires a list of all known assets. TexasLawHelp suggests naming the bank and the last four digits of each account number, and giving the VIN for each car.

When the refusal is correct

Some refusals follow the law. A small estate affidavit can't do these things:

• Pass property under a will. Chapter 205 is for people who died without one, and Section 205.008(a) says it doesn't affect property left by a will. A will points to muniment of title or Letters Testamentary instead.
• Transfer real estate other than the homestead. Under Sections 205.006 and 205.008(b), the affidavit can transfer title to the homestead only when it is the estate's only real property, and it must be recorded in the deed records of the county where the home sits.
• Collect property outside the estate. Under Estates Code Sections 113.151 and 113.152, a payable-on-death account or a joint account with a signed survivorship agreement belongs to the named person, not to the heirs as a group.

What Texas law says when a bank refuses

If the paperwork is complete and the account belongs in the affidavit, Section 205.007 is the part to show the bank.

Subsection (a) protects whoever pays. A bank that pays under the affidavit is released as if it had paid a court-appointed personal representative. It doesn't have to check whether the statements are true or follow where the money goes. Under subsection (c), the people who signed the affidavit are liable for any loss caused by a payment made on it.

The statute doesn't order a bank to pay, though. If the bank still refuses, subsection (d) lets the heirs file a lawsuit to recover the property by proving the facts the affidavit states.

In practice:

1. Ask the bank to send the affidavit to the department that handles accounts of customers who have died, and ask for its reason for refusing.

2. Send a short letter citing Section 205.007(a), with another certified copy of the order and affidavit.

3. If the bank still won't pay, talk with a Texas probate attorney about a lawsuit under Section 205.007(d), or about opening an administration with an application for letters of administration. A court-appointed administrator can then collect the account with Letters.

Vehicles go through the county tax office

In Texas, you don't title an inherited car at a state DMV counter. You apply at the county tax assessor-collector's office, which follows TxDMV rules.

TxDMV's published list for a deceased owner names two kinds of authority. If the estate was probated, bring Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. If it wasn't, bring Form VTR-262, the Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle, with every signature notarized. A small estate affidavit isn't on that list.

So ask the county office whether it will take your approved affidavit. If it won't, VTR-262 is the path TxDMV publishes for an estate that wasn't probated. On that form, a surviving spouse signs alone unless the owner also had children with someone else. Then every surviving child signs too. With no spouse, every child signs. If there was neither a spouse nor children, the form tells the family to ask a lawyer who the heirs are.

The county office also needs Form 130-U, the title if you have it, a release of any lien, and your photo ID. TxDMV's list also includes a gift affidavit when the vehicle is inherited between eligible parties.

Common questions

How Legacywyse can help

When your plan points to a small estate affidavit, Legacywyse drafts it from your answers about the family, the estate, and the county. Before anyone signs, check that the asset list names each account and vehicle the way the bank and county office will see it: the bank's name, the last four digits, and the VIN.