Our last post discussed several strategic and tactical considerations that may influence your decision on whether and how to pursue the removal of a Texas executor. Now it’s time to wrap up this series on how to remove an executor in Texas and highlight some of the more important points. To recap, this series on beneficiary rights to trust information covered the following topics:
- Overview—How to Remove the Executor of an Estate in Texas
- The Legal Requirements for When a Texas Executor May Be Removed
- How to Begin Removing an Independent Executor in Texas Courts
- How to Begin Removal Proceedings in Texas Dependent Administrations
- Texas Discovery Rules and Evidence Support Removal of an Executor
- Challenges to Consider When Removing a Texas Executor
- Series Recap—How to Remove the Executor of an Estate in Texas
As we close out this series, we’d like to emphasize some of the most important points to keep in mind when considering the removal of an executor. Please revisit our previous posts for more in-depth discussion.
–Interested person status. Before you can remove an executor, you need to prove you’re an interested person. Beneficiaries and heirs are the most common type of interested person. But anyone with a financial interest in an estate can seek removal. That includes creditors. For example, let’s say you loaned the deceased person money, but the executor isn’t paying off your loan. You may be able to remove the executor and replace them with someone who will actually repay your loan.
–Choose a recipe. When seeking removal, you must choose a recipe (your legal grounds) from a menu provided by the Texas Estates Code. Dependent administrations offer more options, some of which are easier to fulfill, than independent administrations. Proving that an executor is a bad person isn’t good enough!
–Collect your ingredients. Each menu calls for its own ingredients, but substitute ingredients can work. Your Texas probate attorney can help you identify and procure those ingredients using the tools of legal discovery.
–The juice may or may not be worth the squeeze. Each removal proceeding carries a cost. The executor may deplete estate funds in the fight against removal. The next available option for executor may be less desirable. If you plan to take over as executor, you need to be prepared for that responsibility. All these considerations are highly dependent on your specific circumstances.
This takes us to the end of our series on how to remove an executor of a Texas estate. If you’re considering removal of a Texas executor or suspect someone may try to remove you as executor, we can help. The Johnson Firm’s probate administration and litigation lawyers help beneficiaries, heirs, executors, and administrators pursue and defend against removal proceedings. Our lawyers serve clients throughout Texas, including Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Midland, Odessa, and Fort Worth.