Intestacy
Intestacy
Texas community and separate property descent as a deterministic function with per-capita-with-representation branches.
Structured Visual
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.
RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.
Scope and honesty note
Jurisdiction: Texas statutory anchors with United States wills, trusts, and estates doctrine explained comparatively; as of 2026-08-28; family facts, domicile, property characterization, instruments, tax, and procedure vary; synthetic facts are classroom inputs; not legal advice. Render structure, refuse unsupported validity, capacity, inheritance, fiduciary, guardianship, tax, or disposition conclusions, cite, abstain, and hand off.
See the essential structure first
Start with this deliberately incomplete structure, then use the pinned authorities, worked application, exceptions, and handoff below. This deliberately incomplete preview has 4 nodes; exceptions and legal consequences remain in the sourced prose below.
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.
RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.
Begin with estates doctrine
Texas intestacy begins with property characterization and surviving family. Community property passes entirely to the surviving spouse if there are no descendants or all surviving descendants are also descendants of that spouse; otherwise the decedent's undivided one-half passes to descendants. With spouse and descendants, separate personal property gives one-third to the spouse and two-thirds to descendants; separate land gives the spouse a life estate in one-third and descendants the remainder plus the other interests. Texas calls its descendant method per capita with representation, not strict per stirpes.
No surviving spouse
The statute orders descent to descendants, parents, siblings, and more remote paternal and maternal kindred. Verbatim statutory text: “Tex. Estates Code Sec. 201.001. ESTATE OF AN INTESTATE NOT LEAVING SPOUSE. (a) If a person who dies intestate does not leave a spouse, the estate to which the person had title descends and passes in parcenary to the person's kindred in the order provided by this section. (b) The person's estate descends and passes to the person's children and the children's descendants. (c) If no child or child's descendant survives the person, the person's estate descends and passes in equal portions to the person's father and mother. (d) If only the person's father or mother survives the person, the person's estate shall: (1) be divided into two equal portions, with: (A) one portion passing to the surviving parent; and (B) one portion passing to the person's siblings and the siblings' descendants; or (2) be inherited entirely by the surviving parent if there is no sibling of the person or siblings' descendants. (e) If neither the person's father nor mother survives the person, the person's entire estate passes to the person's siblings and the siblings' descendants. (f) If none of the kindred described by Subsections (b)-(e) survive the person, the person's estate shall be divided into two moieties, with: (1) one moiety passing to the person's paternal kindred as provided by Subsection (g); and (2) one moiety passing to the person's maternal kindred as provided by Subsection (h). (g) The moiety passing to the person's paternal kindred passes in the following order: (1) if both paternal grandparents survive the person, equal portions pass to the person's paternal grandfather and grandmother; (2) if only the person's paternal grandfather or grandmother survives the person, the person's estate shall: (A) be divided into two equal portions, with: (i) one portion passing to the surviving grandparent; and (ii) one portion passing to the descendants of the deceased grandparent; or (B) pass entirely to the surviving grandparent if no descendant of the deceased grandparent survives the person; and (3) if neither the person's paternal grandfather nor grandmother survives the person, the moiety passing to the decedent's paternal kindred passes to the descendants of the person's paternal grandfather and grandmother, and so on without end, passing in like manner to the nearest lineal ancestors and their descendants. (h) The moiety passing to the person's maternal kindred passes in the same order and manner as the other moiety passes to the decedent's paternal kindred under Subsection (g).” Source: Tex. Estates Code § 201.001; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/texas/estates/chapter_201/section_201_001/tex_es_201_001_7f099c92c44b/tex_estates_code_sec_201_001_estate_of_an_intestate_not_leav_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
Separate property with spouse
The statute states surviving-spouse and descendant shares for separate personal property and land. Verbatim statutory text: “Tex. Estates Code Sec. 201.002. SEPARATE ESTATE OF AN INTESTATE. (a) If a person who dies intestate leaves a surviving spouse, the estate, other than a community estate, to which the person had title descends and passes as provided by this section. (b) If the person has one or more children or a descendant of a child: (1) the surviving spouse takes one-third of the personal estate; (2) two-thirds of the personal estate descends to the person's child or children, and the descendants of a child or children; and (3) the surviving spouse is entitled to a life estate in one-third of the person's land, with the remainder descending to the person's child or children and the descendants of a child or children. (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), if the person has no child and no descendant of a child: (1) the surviving spouse is entitled to all of the personal estate; (2) the surviving spouse is entitled to one-half of the person's land without a remainder to any person; and (3) one-half of the person's land passes and is inherited according to the rules of descent and distribution. (d) If the person described by Subsection (c) does not leave a surviving parent or one or more surviving siblings, or their descendants, the surviving spouse is entitled to the entire estate.” Source: Tex. Estates Code § 201.002; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/texas/estates/chapter_201/section_201_002/tex_es_201_002_68ae0f11c7a6/tex_estates_code_sec_201_002_separate_estate_of_an_intestate_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
Community property with spouse
The statute distinguishes all-common descendants from a descendant outside the surviving-spouse relationship. Verbatim statutory text: “Tex. Estates Code Sec. 201.003. COMMUNITY ESTATE OF AN INTESTATE. (a) If a person who dies intestate leaves a surviving spouse, the community estate of the deceased spouse passes as provided by this section. (b) The community estate of the deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse if: (1) no child or other descendant of the deceased spouse survives the deceased spouse; or (2) all of the surviving children and descendants of the deceased spouse are also children or descendants of the surviving spouse. (c) If the deceased spouse is survived by a child or other descendant who is not also a child or other descendant of the surviving spouse, the deceased spouse's undivided one-half interest in the community estate passes to the deceased spouse's children or other descendants. The descendants inherit only the portion of that estate to which they would be entitled under Section 201.101. In every case, the community estate passes charged with the debts against the community estate.” Source: Tex. Estates Code § 201.003; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/texas/estates/chapter_201/section_201_003/tex_es_201_003_5f4223d4ea3d/tex_estates_code_sec_201_003_community_estate_of_an_intestat_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
Per capita with representation
The Texas distribution rule gives equal shares at the first or same degree and descendant representation through a deceased parent. Verbatim statutory text: “Tex. Estates Code Sec. 201.101. DETERMINATION OF PER CAPITA WITH REPRESENTATION DISTRIBUTION. (a) The children, descendants, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, or other relatives of an intestate who stand in the first or same degree of relationship alone and come into the distribution of the intestate's estate take per capita, which means by persons. (b) If some of the persons described by Subsection (a) are dead and some are living, each descendant of those persons who have died is entitled to a distribution of the intestate's estate. Each descendant inherits only that portion of the property to which the parent through whom the descendant inherits would be entitled if that parent were alive.” Source: Tex. Estates Code § 201.101; https://www.neochart.com/catalog/texas/estates/chapter_201/section_201_101/tex_es_201_101_ad9743cfa3db/tex_estates_code_sec_201_101_determination_of_per_capita_wit_0001/index.html; data via neochart.com, snapshot 2026-08.
Pin the synthetic estate record
A synthetic family tree and separate community, personal, and land ledgers populate spouse, common and noncommon descendants, deceased child, grandchildren, survival, characterization, value, debt, and branch variants.
Work the estates application
Because C is not S's descendant, the decedent's half of community property passes to descendants rather than all to S. S receives one-third of separate personal property and a life estate in one-third of separate land. Descendant shares use the pinned per-capita-with-representation rule: living children at the relevant degree take by persons, while B's two children divide only B's share. Removing C changes the community branch; removing S invokes the no-spouse statute.
Read the populated estate record
The intestacy function contains decedent, domicile, spouse, descendant, relationship to spouse, survival, generation, parent link, property class, community half, separate personal, separate land, life estate, remainder, eligible degree, per-capita share, represented parental share, debt, disqualification, and output share. The record contains 17 populated rows plus any reused future-interest grammar.
Jurisdiction: US; as of 2026-08-28; not legal advice; Render structure, refuse interpretation, cite, abstain, and hand off.
RENDER STRUCTURE · REFUSE INTERPRETATION · CITE · ABSTAIN · HAND-OFF: render structure, refuse interpretation, cite provenance, abstain when unsupported, and hand off to human review.
Read the complete record
The complete record keeps sources, stated facts, and questions for review separate. Pinned sources: Verbatim snapshot authority. Tex. Estates Code § 201.001: No surviving spouse: No surviving spouse. Tex. Estates Code § 201.002: Separate property with spouse: Separate property with spouse. Tex. Estates Code § 201.003: Community property with spouse: Community property with spouse. Tex. Estates Code § 201.101: Per capita with representation: Per capita with representation. Synthetic estate: Classroom family and property records only. Family: Decedent leaves spouse S, child A shared with S, deceased child B shared with S leaving two children, and child C from another relationship. Property: Community estate, separate personal property, and separate land are separately valued and debt-adjusted. Variants: The family record can remove C or the spouse to exercise each statutory branch. Doctrine trace: Classification, element, share, procedure, remedy, handoff. Family tree: Spouse, descendants, parent-child links, adoption, parentage, survival, disclaimers, advancements and bars. Community property: All to spouse if no descendant or every surviving descendant is also spouse's descendant; otherwise decedent's one-half passes to descendants. Separate personal with descendants: Spouse receives one-third; descendants receive two-thirds. Separate land with descendants: Spouse receives life estate in one-third; descendants receive remainder in that third and present interests in the balance. Separate estate without descendants: Spouse gets all personal and half land; other half land to parents, siblings or descendants unless none, then spouse gets all. Representation algorithm: Living relatives at first eligible degree take per capita; descendants of deceased persons take only the deceased parent's share by representation.
Narrow summary
Characterize property, choose the spouse-and-descendant branch, then apply Texas per capita with representation; do not import elective-share or strict per-stirpes assumptions.