Probate of a will as a muniment of title is an abbreviated procedure found in Texas to transfer property left by a will, without going through a more involved probate process. With this procedure, the will is probated, but the court does not appoint an executor or administrator, and there is no administration of the estate. A certified copy of the court’s order with a certified copy of the will attached is simply used as proof of title.
This procedure can be used when a person leaves a will, and leaves no debts which are not secured by real estate. This procedure is not suitable where someone must administer the estate, i.e. to gather assets, pay bills and distribute proceeds to those who inherit.
An advantage of this procedure is that the estate is vested in the beneficiaries in the shortest possible time. A possible disadvantage of this procedure is that if there are corporate securities and similar investments, sometimes out of state transfer agents do not understand this simplified Texas procedure, and we can have difficulty getting them to make the required transfers. If we know in advance that there are corporate securities in the estate, it is probably a good idea not to use this procedure if there is a viable alternative.
