You are not late on anything this roadmap tracks. The next date on it is Small Estate Affidavit Available, which opens Sep 19, 2026: the earliest your state lets you take that step, not something you owe by then.
Common first questionDo you even need full probate?
Not every estate needs a full probate case. Many smaller estates qualify for a simpler small-estate affidavit or similar shortcut, depending on what the estate owns and your state's rules. If your list below includes a small-estate or affidavit task, open it: it explains what may qualify. Your probate court can confirm what applies to your situation.
Your roadmap, grouped into chapters. Open any chapter; nothing is hidden.
1. Right now, the first daysYou are herecare, notifications, paperwork2 of 9 done
Your next step
Pronouncement of Death
It is the first step still open on your roadmap. Work down from here; the dated ones are called out as they come.
Choose a funeral home to transport and care for your loved one. They will guide you through many next steps.
Notify Immediate Family
First 24-48 Hours
Done
Let close family members know. Consider designating one person to spread the word to extended family and friends.
Pronouncement of Death
First 24-48 Hours
Not started
If the death occurred at home, call 911 or the deceased's doctor. A medical professional must officially pronounce the death.
2. Before the court appoints youthe path, the will, the filing1 of 15 done
Find out whether there is a will
First 24-48 Hours
Done
Search where the person kept important papers: a home safe or filing cabinet, a safe deposit box, the office of the attorney who drafted it, and the probate court clerk, since some people file a will for safekeeping before they die. Ask the family, the executor named in any copy you find, and any financial adviser. A photocopy is not the will: the court almost always wants the signed original. The answer decides which route this estate takes, so it is worth doing before anything else on this roadmap.
Read the will all the way through
First Week
Not started
Read it once for what it says and once for what it asks of you. Note who it names as executor and whether an alternate is named, every specific gift, and the residuary clause that says who receives whatever is left after those gifts and the debts. Check for a codicil, a later amendment that can change any of it. If the will refers to a trust, the trust usually holds its own assets and has its own trustee, and that is a separate job from the one you are doing. If the will names someone who has died, or a gift of something the estate no longer owns, note it now rather than at distribution: both have rules, and both are easier to raise early with the court or an attorney.
Agree how personal belongings will be divided
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
This is where families fall out, and it is rarely about money. Start from the documents: a specific gift in the will controls, and some states also recognise a separate signed list of personal items. For everything the will does not name, agree the method before anyone takes anything, because a method everyone accepted in advance survives disagreement far better than a decision made item by item. Families commonly rotate picks, draw lots, or bid against an appraised value and settle the difference in cash. Anything contested is worth appraising rather than arguing over. Nothing should leave the house until the inventory is done.
Deal with the digital accounts and subscriptions
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Email is the master key: password resets for almost everything else run through it, so secure that access first and do not close it early. Cancel the subscriptions billing a card each month, which are easiest to find on the last card statements. Social accounts can usually be memorialized or closed, and each platform has its own process and its own proof requirements. Most states have adopted a version of the fiduciary digital-access law, which gives an executor a route to account records while limiting access to the content of private messages, so expect a provider to ask for the letters and to still say no to some of it.
Decide: Attorney vs DIY
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Texas is very DIY-friendly for probate. Decide if you need professional help.
Determine if Probate is Needed
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Not all estates need probate. Many assets pass directly to beneficiaries.
File Life Insurance Claims
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Look for coverage in more places than a standalone policy: an employer or union plan, a mortgage or credit card add-on, a fraternal organization, and veterans' coverage. Call each insurer, ask for a claim form, and expect to send a certified death certificate and the policy number. A policy paid to a named beneficiary who is still living goes straight to that person and is not part of the probate estate; it becomes estate money only when the estate is the named beneficiary or no named beneficiary survives. You do not have to wait for probate to open before you file.
Find every account before you close anything
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Accounts nobody knew about are the commonest reason an estate has to be reopened. Collect the mail for at least a month, including the statements that only arrive quarterly. Check the email inbox for paperless statements, which is where most accounts now live. Read the last filed tax return: interest, dividends and retirement distributions on it each name an institution. Look for HSAs, old employer retirement plans, brokerage accounts, safe deposit boxes and prepaid funeral plans. Write down what you find and where it is before you start closing anything, because the balance on the date of death is the figure the inventory and the tax returns are built from.
Keep the home insured, powered and maintained
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Tell the insurer that the house is now unoccupied. Most homeowner policies limit or exclude cover once a property has been empty for a set period, commonly around 30 to 60 days, and a claim on an unreported vacant house can be refused. Ask what the policy needs, which is usually a vacancy endorsement. Keep the utilities on: heat prevents frozen pipes and power keeps sump pumps and alarms running, and a burst pipe in an empty house is the single most expensive thing that happens to estates. Keep the lawn cut and the mail collected, because a visibly empty house attracts attention.
Notify Banks and Financial Institutions
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Contact every bank, credit union, brokerage and retirement plan where the person held an account. Each one will want a certified copy of the death certificate. Ask for the balance as of the date of death in writing: that is the figure the estate inventory and the estate's tax returns are built on. Ask them to stop automatic payments and direct deposits, and stop using any card on the person's account. Who receives each account depends on how it was titled and on any beneficiary named on it, which is a separate question from probate.
Secure Property
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Protect the deceased's home and belongings.
Small Estate Affidavit Available
Waiting period·opens Sep 19, 2026Statutory waiting period
Not started
Small Estate Affidavit cannot be filed until 30 days after death. (per Texas Estates Code § 205.001) Applies if: Estate qualifies for small estate affidavit.
File Affidavit or Certificate of Beneficiary Notice
After you're appointed
Not started
This one runs 90 days from the date the will is admitted to probate, not from the death, so we cannot date it for you. Check that date with the court handling the estate and diarise it yourself. Not later than the 90th day after the date of the order admitting the will to probate, file with the county clerk a sworn affidavit of the representative or a certificate signed by the representative's attorney listing each beneficiary noticed, each excepted under § 308.002(c)(2)-(4), each whose identity or address could not be ascertained despite reasonable diligence, and any other information explaining an inability to give notice. May be included in another filing (such as the inventory or an affidavit in lieu of inventory) made by the same date (§ 308.004(b)). (per Tex. Estates Code § 308.004)
Open Probate (if needed)
Ongoing (Weeks to Months)
Not started
If the estate requires probate, file the appropriate petition with the court.
Send Notice of Probated Will to Will Beneficiaries
After you're appointed
Not started
This one runs 60 days from the date the will is admitted to probate, not from the death, so we cannot date it for you. Check that date with the court handling the estate and diarise it yourself. Not later than the 60th day after the date of the order admitting the will to probate, give each will beneficiary whose identity and address are known or reasonably ascertainable a notice with the § 308.003 contents, sent by a qualified delivery method (§ 22.0295: courier with receipt, certified or registered mail with return receipt, or a designated private delivery service). Exceptions (§ 308.002(c)): a beneficiary who appeared in the proceeding before the will was admitted, is entitled to aggregate gifts of $2,000 or less, received all gifts within the same 60 days, or signed and filed a waiver after receiving the will or a gift summary. Does not apply to muniment-of-title probate (§ 308.0015). Intestate estates have no equivalent post-appointment duty: heirs receive court-issued citations instead (posting on the administration application, § 303.001; qualified-delivery-method or publication citation in the heirship proceeding, §§ 202.051-202.052). (per Tex. Estates Code § 308.002)
3. After you are appointedadministration; several clocks start here0 of 5 done
Some steps here run from the day the probate court appoints you and issues your Letters, not from the date of death. Until then they carry no date; they are still real duties once you are appointed.
Get a federal tax ID (EIN) for the estate
First Month·due Sep 19, 2026Estimated
Not started
Apply for the estate's free Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS using Form SS-4 (fastest online at irs.gov). You need the EIN to open an estate bank account and to file the estate's income tax return (Form 1041) if the estate earns income. The online application is free and usually issues the number right away.
Creditor Claim Period Ends
Deadline·closes Dec 20, 2026Claim window
Not started
Creditors have 4 months from receipt of notice or first publication to file claims against the estate. (per Texas Estates Code § 308.054)
Homestead Exemption Application
Deadline·due Apr 30, 2027Estimated
Not started
If surviving spouse is taking homestead property, apply for homestead exemption with county appraisal district. Applies if: Deceased owned homestead property.
File Estate Inventory
After you're appointed
Not started
This one runs within 90 days of your appointment (the court issuing your Letters), not from the death, so it has no date yet. Record the date on your roadmap once it happens and this deadline will be calculated for you. Executor must file an inventory, appraisement, and list of claims within 90 days of qualification. (per Texas Estates Code § 309.051) Applies if: Dependent administration (not required for independent administration).
Publish Notice to Creditors
After you're appointed
Not started
This one runs within 30 days of your appointment (the court issuing your Letters), not from the death, so it has no date yet. Record the date on your roadmap once it happens and this deadline will be calculated for you. After qualifying as executor, publish notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation. (per Texas Estates Code § 308.051)
4. Closing the estatetaxes, distributions, wrap-up0 of 5 done
Estate Income Tax Return (Form 1041)
If it applies·due Apr 15, 2027Estimated
Not started
If the estate earns $600 or more of gross income during administration (or has a nonresident-alien beneficiary), the personal representative must file a federal fiduciary income tax return, Form 1041 (per IRC 6012(a)(3)). For a calendar-year estate the first return is due April 15 of the year after death (per IRC 6072(a)); the estate may instead elect a fiscal year, in which case it is due the 15th day of the 4th month after that year ends. This is separate from the decedent's final Form 1040, and a state fiduciary return may also apply if your state taxes income. Applies if: the estate has $600 or more of gross income during administration, or any beneficiary is a nonresident alien.
Final Income Tax Return Due
If it applies·due Apr 15, 2027Estimated
Not started
The deceased's final Form 1040 is due April 15 of the year following death (extendable to October 15).
Federal Estate Tax Return Due (if required)
If it applies·due May 20, 2027Verified by statute
Not started
Form 706 due 9 months after death. Only required if gross estate exceeds federal exemption ($15M in 2026). (per 26 U.S.C. § 6075) Applies if: Gross estate exceeds federal exemption, or portability election desired.
Distribute Assets
Ongoing (Weeks to Months)
Not started
After debts are paid and waiting periods end, distribute remaining assets.
File Tax Returns
Ongoing (Weeks to Months)
Not started
File the deceased's final tax return and any estate tax returns.
Every date on this roadmap16 dated · enter your 2 key dates here for real deadlines
Record your key dates
Two dates set the clock on several deadlines. Enter them once they happen and we will calculate the exact due dates for you, including the creditor claim deadline, which the law measures from when you publish notice.
Nothing is past due.
Sep 19, 2026Agree how personal belongings will be divideddueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Deal with the digital accounts and subscriptionsdueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Decide: Attorney vs DIYdueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Determine if Probate is NeededdueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026File Life Insurance ClaimsdueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Find every account before you close anythingdueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Get a federal tax ID (EIN) for the estatedueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Keep the home insured, powered and maintaineddueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Notify Banks and Financial InstitutionsdueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Secure PropertydueEstimated
Sep 19, 2026Small Estate Affidavit AvailableopensVerified by statute
Dec 20, 2026Creditor Claim Period Endswindow end, clock not startedEstimatedMeasured from the day you publish notice to creditors; a projection until then.
Apr 15, 2027Estate Income Tax Return (Form 1041)due, if it appliesEstimated
Apr 15, 2027Final Income Tax Return Duedue, if it appliesEstimated
