is the executor of the estate required to give a beneficiary a copy or notify them that they were included in the will and if so is there a time frame

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is the executor of the estate required to give a beneficiary a copy or notify them that they were included in the will and if so is there a time frame

Asked on May 8, 2009 under Estate Planning, Texas

Answers:

E.H., Member, Calfiornia Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

Section 128A of the Texas Probate Code requires that the executor notify all beneficiaries of the Estate that the will has been probated. Probated, essentially means that the will is being administered.

http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/pb.toc.htm

Sec. 128A. NOTICE TO CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES AFTER PROBATE OF WILL. (a) In this section, "beneficiary" means a person, entity, state, governmental agency of the state, charitable organization, or trust entitled to receive real or personal property under the terms of a decedent's will, to be determined for purposes of this section with the assumption that each person who is alive on the date of the decedent's death survives any period required to receive the bequest as specified by the terms of the will. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, not later than the 60th day after the date of an order admitting a decedent's will to probate, the personal representative of the decedent's estate, including an independent executor or independent administrator, shall give notice that complies with Subsection (e) of this section to each beneficiary named in the will whose identity and address are known to the personal representative or, through reasonable diligence, can be ascertained. If, after the 60th day after the date of the order, the personal representative becomes aware of the identity and address of a beneficiary who was not given notice on or before the 60th day, the personal representative shall give the notice as soon as possible after becoming aware of that information. (c) Notwithstanding the requirement under Subsection (b) of this section that the personal representative give the notice to the beneficiary, the personal representative shall give the notice with respect to a beneficiary described by this subsection as follows: (1) if the beneficiary is a trust, to the trustee, unless the personal representative is the trustee, in which case the personal representative shall give the notice to the person or class of persons first eligible to receive the trust income, to be determined for purposes of this subdivision as if the trust were in existence on the date of the decedent's death; (2) if the beneficiary has a court-appointed guardian or conservator, to that guardian or conservator; (3) if the beneficiary is a minor for whom no guardian or conservator has been appointed, to a parent of the minor; and (4) if the beneficiary is a charity that for any reason cannot be notified, to the attorney general. (d) A personal representative is not required to give the notice otherwise required by this section to a beneficiary who: (1) made an appearance in the proceeding with respect to the decedent's estate before the will was admitted to probate; or (2) received a copy of the will that was admitted to probate and waived the right to receive the notice in an instrument that: (A) acknowledges the receipt of the copy of the will; (B) is signed by the beneficiary; and (C) is filed with the court. (e) The notice required by this section must: (1) state: (A) the name and address of the beneficiary to whom the notice is given or, for a beneficiary described by Subsection (c) of this section, the name and address of the beneficiary for whom the notice is given and of the person to whom the notice is given; (B) the decedent's name; (C) that the decedent's will has been admitted to probate; (D) that the beneficiary to whom or for whom the notice is given is named as a beneficiary in the will; and (E) the personal representative's name and contact information; and (2) contain as attachments a copy of the will admitted to probate and the order admitting the will to probate. (f) The notice required by this section must be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. (g) Not later than the 90th day after the date of an order admitting a will to probate, the personal representative shall file with the clerk of the court in which the decedent's estate is pending a sworn affidavit of the personal representative, or a certificate signed by the personal representative's attorney, stating: (1) for each beneficiary to whom notice was required to be given under this section, the name and address of the beneficiary to whom the personal representative gave the notice or, for a beneficiary described by Subsection (c) of this section, the name and address of the beneficiary and of the person to whom the notice was given; (2) the name and address of each beneficiary who filed a waiver of the notice; (3) the name of each beneficiary whose identity or address could not be ascertained despite the personal representative's exercise of reasonable diligence; and (4) any other information necessary to explain the personal representative's inability to give the notice to or for any beneficiary as required by this section. (h) The affidavit or certificate required by Subsection (g) of this section may be included with any pleading or other document filed with the clerk of the court, including the inventory, appraisement, and list of claims or an application for an extension of the deadline to file the inventory, appraisement, and list of claims, provided that the pleading or other document with which the affidavit or certificate is included is filed not later than the date the affidavit or certificate is required to be filed as provided by Subsection (g) of this section. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1035, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 801, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.


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