The executor's guide
Selling a Home During the Probate Process
If you are the executor, heir, or trustee selling a loved one's house in Texas, the process runs through the county probate court of the county where they lived, and the sale cannot happen until the court has given someone the authority to act. The good news: the sequence is well-worn, the players are known, and an agent who does only this work can carry most of the load. This guide walks through what to expect, what to keep an eye on, and which county court is yours.
The sequence
Six moves from first filing to final deed
Confirm the authority
Probate opens in the county where the deceased lived. The will is filed (if there is one), the executor or administrator is appointed, and the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Nothing about the home gets signed before this authority exists.
Get the estate organized
The executor collects the important papers: the death certificate, the deed or title history, the mortgage statement, the insurance policy, and the property tax account. These tell everyone what the home is, what it owes, and what it is worth.
Prepare the home
A house that has been empty for months needs an honest walkthrough. Guy assesses condition, suggests only the repairs that pay, and prices against recent sales in the same neighborhood, not sentiment.
Market and show
The home is marketed like any well-run Texas listing, with one difference: the schedule and the communication stay sensitive to the family and the estate timeline. Offers are reviewed by the executor with the attorney.
Contract and closing
The sale closes with an executor’s, administrator’s, or trustee’s deed. Title confirms the authority. The mortgage payoff, taxes, and estate costs are settled from proceeds.
Distribute the proceeds
What remains moves to the estate account, then to heirs and beneficiaries per the will or intestate succession, under the executor’s oversight and the court’s rules.
Day to day
What sellers should know along the way
No. 01
The mortgage keeps its place
The estate can usually keep making payments while the home sells, and the balance is paid from proceeds at closing. A family member does not become personally obligated on the note just by inheriting. Tell the lender about the death and ask how the estate should continue payments.
No. 02
Property taxes do not pause
County tax bills keep accruing while the case is open. They are an estate expense settled from the sale proceeds, and the executor should keep the account straight with the county.
No. 03
Insurance changes when a home is empty
Many homeowner policies limit coverage once a house sits vacant. Ask the insurer about a vacancy-aware policy so the estate is covered while the home is marketed.
No. 04
The executor’s deed is the key
At closing, title transfers by an executor’s, administrator’s, or trustee’s deed. The title company verifies the court appointment and, with a will, the clause that grants the power to sell.
No. 05
Pricing is a job for real data
An inherited home often needs honest comps from the decedent’s actual neighborhood, not a guess from sentiment. Overpricing stalls an estate; underpricing gives value away. Guy prices from current market data.
No. 06
Timing follows the estate, not the market
The estate decides the pace. Independent administration is usually the faster road because the executor can sell without case-by-case court approval; dependent administration takes longer by design.
County by county
Probate is handled by county, so this is your courthouse
In Texas, an estate opens in the county where the deceased resided, not where the house happens to sit. Greater Houston spreads across several counties, each with its own probate court, docket, and filing routine. Guy works in all of them, so the courthouse your case lives in is one he already knows.
The links below go to the official county court pages for each court. Estate questions belong with your probate attorney; the home side belongs with Guy.
No. 01
Harris County
Probate Courts No. 1–4 handle probate, guardianship, and estate matters from the Civil Courthouse downtown.
County court pageNo. 02
Fort Bend County
County Courts at Law exercise probate jurisdiction; County Court at Law No. 3 hears the regular probate docket.
County court pageNo. 03
Montgomery County
Probate Court No. 1, the county’s statutory probate court, sits at the courthouse in Conroe.
County court pageNo. 04
Galveston County
A dedicated statutory probate court on the island, alongside the county courts at law, with filings through the county clerk.
County court pageNo. 05
Brazoria County
County Court at Law No. 3 also sits as the probate court, in Angleton.
County court pageNo. 06
Waller County
County Court at Law No. 2 hears probate from the courthouse in Hempstead.
County court pageProbate Guy TX also serves nearby Liberty and Chambers counties and every community in between, from Katy and Sugar Land to Spring, Tomball, and The Woodlands. If your county is not listed, ask whether Guy works there, the answer is almost always yes.
An honest boundary
This page explains how probate sales work so you can recognize the shape of your own situation. It is not legal advice. Every estate raises its own questions, and a qualified Texas probate attorney should guide the estate itself. What Guy provides is the real-estate side, done well, so the estate can close cleanly.