Texas probate timeline: every deadline, in order
Short answer
Texas sets no fixed length for probate, but the Estates Code sets the clocks: beneficiary notices within 60 days of the order admitting the will, creditor notice within 1 month of letters, secured-creditor notice within 2 months, and the inventory before the 91st day after the executor qualifies.
Every date below links to the statute or court rule it comes from. Not legal advice — courts can extend several of these.
The deadlines
Texas runs its clocks from three dates: the death, the court’s order admitting the will, and the day the executor qualifies and receives letters.
-
Send notice to each beneficiary named in the will
60 days from the order admitting the will · Estates Code §308.002
-
Publish notice to creditors in a newspaper
1 month from the letters issued · Estates Code §308.051
-
Notify creditors whose claims are secured by estate property
2 months from the letters issued · Estates Code §308.053
-
File the affidavit (or attorney’s certificate) that beneficiary notices went out
90 days from the order admitting the will · Estates Code §308.004
-
File the inventory, appraisement and list of claims — or an affidavit in lieu of inventory
90 days from the letters issued · Estates Code §309.051, §309.056
Due before the 91st day after the executor qualifies, unless the court grants more time.
-
Last day to admit the will to probate (with limited exceptions)
4 years from the date of death · Estates Code §256.003
Clocks with no fixed date
- An executor may send an unsecured creditor an optional notice; the creditor then has until the 121st day after receiving it to present the claim, or the claim is barred (Estates Code §308.054).
Worked example
Someone died March 3, 2026, and the will was admitted and letters issued May 4, 2026. The statutory dates fall like this:
- Publish notice to creditors in a newspaperJune 4, 2026
- Send notice to each beneficiary named in the willJuly 3, 2026
- Notify creditors whose claims are secured by estate propertyJuly 4, 2026
- File the affidavit (or attorney’s certificate) that beneficiary notices went outAugust 2, 2026
- File the inventory, appraisement and list of claims — or an affidavit in lieu of inventoryAugust 2, 2026
- Last day to admit the will to probate (with limited exceptions)March 3, 2030
For the executor doing the work
Don’t run probate from a list of dates
Estate Executor OS keeps these deadlines next to the asset inventory, every account to close, and the receipts the final accounting needs. One offline file, one-time $29.00.