Probate of a Will with Letters Testamentary is probate of a Will with an estate administration. However, Letters Testamentary are only given to a person named in a Will to act as “Executor”, and only after the Will has been admitted to probate and the named person has “qualified” to act as Executor under Texas probate and estate administration laws.
In Texas, only probate courts or county courts at law have authority to admit a Will to probate and appoint an Executor of a deceased person’s estate. It is these courts’ responsibility to ensure that the named Executor in the Will is a person eligible to act as Executor of the deceased person’s estate and that they can also qualify to act as Executor under Texas probate and estate administration laws. Because an Executor is considered a fiduciary, they must be represented by a probate attorney when applying to the court to be appointed Executor and when taking certain actions on behalf of the deceased person’s estate. Once a person is authorized by the court to act as Executor of an estate, they receive “Letters Testamentary”, which is their license to deal with third parties in relation to the estate.
If the Will contains special language allowing the Executor to act without the supervision of the court, then the person may be appointed as an “Independent Executor”. Having an Independent Executor is essentially the same as having an independent administration. In an independent administration, the Administrator can act “independent” of the court including on such tasks as collecting and selling estate property, paying creditors, and distributing estate assets. A probate attorney with Law Office of Adriane S. Grace, PLLC can assist a person name in a Will to serve as “Executor” with the legal proceedings necessary to admit the Will to probate and become a duly-appointed Executor of an estate.
