Dependent Administration in Dallas County

Most families don’t choose a dependent administration. The court orders one when the conditions for an independent administration aren’t met, and from then on nearly every significant step runs through the court.

How an Estate Ends Up in Dependent Administration

• There’s no will, and the heirs don’t all agree to an independent administration
• The will doesn’t provide for independent administration, and not everyone will consent to one
• A beneficiary objects, and the court declines to let the estate be administered without supervision
• The estate is insolvent or close to it, and the court wants claims paid in statutory order
• An independent executor is removed, and the court appoints a successor under court supervision

What Court Supervision Means

A dependent administrator needs the court’s permission before acting. An independent executor acts first and reports afterward. In a dependent administration, the representative files an application, gives any required notice, gets an order, and only then acts.

Selling property, paying a creditor, hiring a professional, borrowing money and making a distribution each require their own application and order. The representative also files an annual account, and the court reviews it.

Selling a House Out of a Dependent Administration

Selling real estate is the most common reason people call us about a supervised estate. Here’s the sequence the Estates Code requires.

1. Application for an order of saleUnder Estates Code Section 356.251, the application may be made when a sale appears necessary or advisable to pay administration expenses, funeral expenses, last illness expenses, allowances or claims, or to dispose of an interest in estate real property when selling it is in the estate’s best interest.
2. A verified exhibit goes with itSection 356.252 requires the application to be in writing, to describe the property, and to attach an exhibit verified by affidavit showing the estate’s condition in detail, the claims approved, established or still outstanding, the amount of each, and the property still on hand that is liable for them.
3. Citation by postingSection 356.253 has the clerk issue citation to all interested persons, served by posting, describing the property and telling them they may file an opposition within the period the court sets.
4. Report the sale within 30 daysSection 356.551 requires a successful bid or contract to be reported to the court no later than the 30th day after the bid is made or the property goes under contract. The report is sworn and in writing and includes the sale terms, the purchaser’s name, the price, and whether the sale was at auction or by private contract.
5. The court acts after five daysUnder Section 356.552, once five days have passed after the report is filed, the court inquires into how the sale was made, hears evidence for and against the report, and determines whether the representative’s bond is sufficient before confirming.

None of these steps is hard, but together they make the sale slower than a normal closing. Buyers who aren’t told about court confirmation often back out, so we make sure the buyer knows the timeline before signing.

Order of Payment for Creditors

Estates Code Section 355.102 sets the priority classes for claims. Class 1 is funeral expenses and expenses of the last illness, in a reasonable amount approved by the court, up to $15,000 for each category, with any excess paid as an unsecured claim. Class 2 is administration expenses and the costs of preserving and managing the estate. Class 3 is secured claims, including tax liens, to the extent they can be paid from the property securing them. Class 4 covers delinquent child support that has been confirmed by judgment or administrative determination. The statute continues through Class 8.

The payment order is where a representative’s personal exposure is greatest. Paying a sympathetic creditor ahead of a higher class can make the representative answerable for the shortfall, so we check the class of every claim before anything is paid.

Court Approval of Fees

In a dependent administration, attorney’s fees and the representative’s compensation are paid only after the court approves an application for them. Dallas County publishes Guidelines for Approval of Attorney Fee Petitions, and the probate courts apply them.

Unless the court waives it, Local Rule 6.01(a) requires the personal representative to personally sign the inventory, annual and final accounts, annual reports, any application to expend more than $1,000, any application for payment or reimbursement of attorney’s fees, a memorandum allowing or rejecting a claim, an application to ratify unauthorized acts or expenditures, an application to reduce bond, and any other pleading the court directs.

Because the representative’s own signature goes on these filings, the representative is personally attesting to the numbers. We have clients read each accounting before they sign it.

When the Court Can’t Approve an Account

Local Rule 6.02(a) gives families a way to resolve an account the court can’t approve. If every distributee files an instrument stating that they’ve reviewed the account, waive all objections, ratify the administrator’s acts and ask the court to approve it, the court may find the acts ratified, approve the account and order the administrator to take the steps needed to close the estate.

When the family agrees, this can put a sloppy administration back on track without a lawsuit.

Dallas County Probate Courts

• The Probate CourtJudge Julia R. Malveaux
  Associate Judge Mary Jayne McNeil George
  Suite 100
• Probate Court No. 2Judge Ingrid M. Warren
  Associate Judge Ryan Trobee
  (214) 653-7138
  Suite 200
• Probate Court No. 3Judge Margaret Jones-Johnson
  Associate Judge Tomi J. Shehan
  (214) 653-6166
  Suite 300

All three sit on the 7th floor of the George Allen Courts Building, 600 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas 75202.

Under Local Rule 2.09, each court may dismiss for want of prosecution any matter that has been on file for at least one year without a trial or hearing setting, using the procedures in Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 165a. A dependent administration that stalls can end up on the dismissal docket.

How Long a Dependent Administration Takes

A dependent administration takes longer than an independent one, and the timeline depends on the assets and how much the parties disagree. When there’s real property to sell and claims to resolve, plan on a timeline measured in years. We’ll give you that estimate at the start so it doesn’t catch you by surprise a year in.

Counties We Serve From Dallas

• Dallas
• Collin
• Denton
• Rockwall
• Kaufman
• Ellis