Texas updated its probate and estate laws this legislative session, including clearer court procedures, tighter guardian oversight, and a significant upgrade in criminal penalties for will forgery. Here’s what changed and what it means for your family.
Why Texas Estate Law Just Changed
Every two years, the Texas Legislature meets and passes updates to state law across dozens of areas, including how estates, trusts, and guardianships are handled. The 89th Legislature approved several targeted changes to the Texas Estates Code that courts, attorneys, and families will feel in practical ways.
These are not dramatic overhauls. They are the kind of incremental, technical improvements that the legal system occasionally needs to close gaps, clarify ambiguities, and tighten protections. But for families navigating probate, planning their estates, or caring for a loved one under a guardianship arrangement, the changes are worth understanding.
What Changed: Four Areas to Know
Proving a Will in Court
When someone dies and their will goes to probate, the court must be satisfied that the will is authentic and valid. Texas courts now have clearer, more standardized procedures for how that process works. This matters because ambiguity in procedure has historically created opportunities for delay, challenge, and additional expense. Clearer procedures benefit families by making the process more predictable and, in most cases, faster.
Transferring Probate Files Between Counties
Texas is a large state, and people move. It is not uncommon for someone to have lived in multiple Texas counties over the course of their life, or to die in a different county than where their primary property is located. The legislature updated procedures for transferring probate files between counties to reduce confusion and make cross-county estates easier to administer.
Guardian Oversight
When a court appoints a guardian for someone who cannot care for themselves, whether due to age, disability, or incapacity, that guardian holds significant power over another person’s life and finances. Courts now have clearer tools for supervising those guardians and intervening when problems arise. This is a meaningful protection for vulnerable Texans whose guardians may not always act in their best interest.
Will Forgery Is Now a Third-Degree Felony
This is the most significant change in terms of criminal consequences. Under previous Texas law, forging a will, codicil, deed, or similar legal instrument was classified as a state jail felony, a relatively lower-level offense.
The legislature upgraded that to a third-degree felony. In Texas, a third-degree felony carries a punishment of 2 to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000, compared to 180 days to 2 years for a state jail felony.
This change reflects a recognition that forging an estate document is a serious crime with serious consequences for families. It is not a victimless offense. Forged wills can strip surviving spouses of their inheritance, divert assets away from children, and destroy families. The increased penalty sends a clearer message about how seriously Texas treats that kind of fraud.
What This Means for Your Estate Plan
These legislative changes are a good reason to revisit your estate plan, even if nothing dramatic has changed in your personal life.
If you have a will that was drafted several years ago, it may have been written under procedures and assumptions that no longer match current law. An attorney who is current on Texas estate law can review your documents to make sure they hold up under the new rules and will move through probate as smoothly as possible.
If you do not have a will, the legislature’s focus on probate clarity is a reminder of how important it is to have one. Without a will, your estate goes through intestate succession, where the state decides how your assets are distributed. The new procedures for proving and transferring wills only benefit people who have a will to prove and transfer. If you die without one, none of those protections apply to your family.
If you have a loved one under guardianship, the new oversight tools are worth discussing with an attorney. Courts now have more structured ways to identify and address problems with guardians. If you have concerns about how a guardian is managing a family member’s affairs, this is a good time to explore what the courts can now do.
If you are an immigrant or a member of a mixed-status family, estate planning carries an added layer of complexity that these changes do not resolve on their own. Questions about cross-border property, family members who are not US citizens, and the intersection of immigration status with inheritance require specific legal guidance. The legislative updates apply equally to everyone in Texas, but making the most of them still requires a plan tailored to your actual situation.
The Will Forgery Change Deserves Special Attention
In immigrant communities and in families where wealth transfer is complicated by immigration status or by geographic distance, estate fraud can be particularly damaging. A family member in another country who disputes a will, an unscrupulous relative who alters documents, a forged signature on a deed: these situations happen, and they can destroy the financial security that someone spent a lifetime building.
The upgrade from a state jail felony to a third-degree felony for forging estate documents is a meaningful deterrent. It also means that if your family is ever victimized by this kind of fraud, Texas prosecutors now have more serious tools to use.
The best protection against estate fraud, though, is having properly executed documents in the first place. A will that was prepared and witnessed correctly, with an attorney’s involvement, is far harder to successfully challenge or forge than one that was handwritten or improperly signed.
Powers Law Group Is Here
Powers Law Group helps individuals and families across Texas create wills, powers of attorney, and comprehensive estate plans that work under current Texas law. Whether you are starting your estate plan for the first time, updating documents after a major life change, or navigating a probate or guardianship situation, our team is here to help.
The legislature just updated the rules. Make sure your plan works under them. Contact Powers Law Group today to schedule a consultation.
Sources
- McMahon Surovik Suttle PC, 2025 Texas Estate and Trust Law Changes and What Dallas Families Should Update Before 2026, blog.mcmfirm.com. https://blog.mcmfirm.com/2025-texas-estate-and-trust-law-changes-and-what-dallas-families-should-update-before-2026/
- Texas Legislature Online, 89th Texas Legislature: Estates Code Amendments, 2025. https://capitol.texas.gov
- Texas Estates Code, Chapter 201: Descent and Distribution. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- State Bar of Texas, Probate and Estate Planning in Texas, 2025. https://www.texasbar.com
- Texas Young Lawyers Association, A Will for You, 2024. https://www.tyla.org
- Texas State Law Library, Wills and Probate in Texas, 2025. https://www.sll.texas.gov
- Penal Code of Texas, Chapter 32: Fraud, Third-Degree Felony Provisions. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov
- American Bar Association, Estate Planning FAQs, 2024. https://www.americanbar.org
- Powers Law Group, Do You Have a Will? Here’s Why Every Adult in Texas Needs One, 2026. https://www.rubypowerslaw.com
- Powers Law Group, April Is Financial Literacy Month: The Best Financial Decision You Can Make, April 2026. https://www.rubypowerslaw.com
