Estate planning and probate firm based in Cedar Park with six more offices across Austin, Round Rock, Bellaire, and Arlington. Handles probate administration and avoidance, muniment of title, small estate affidavits, trust administration, guardianship, will contests, and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Eight attorneys split between planning and probate teams.
Houston is in Harris County.
More Trust Administration Firms in Harris County
Serves Baytown, Mont Belvieu, and east Harris County plus neighboring Chambers and Liberty counties. Attorney Marcus D. Pinney handles will probate, estate administration, and heirship proceedings, and works with executors and beneficiaries who live outside the area. Opens with a free 15-minute call.
Probate in Harris County
Probate Court Record
Harris County Probate Courts No. 1 through No. 5
Harris County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM
Office
201 Caroline, Suite 800, Houston, TX 77002
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Attorney of record required
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Harris County →
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Harris County? →Settling an estate in Harris County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Texas
Free Texas forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Texas.
$12/month
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Get Started
Free
Pour-Over Will
In Texas, a pour-over will is signed before 2Tex. Est. Code § 251.051Verified Sep 16, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Get Started
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Texas
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Texas: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Texas.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Texas happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's trust statuteTex. Prop. Code § 111.001 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
See the Steps
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
In Texas, trustee compensation follows "reasonable compensation" (UTC § 708 or equivalent)Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 114.061Verified Sep 18, 2026View source unless the trust instrument sets a different amount.
Calculate the Fee
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Texas: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysTex. Estates Code §§ 309.001, 309.051, 309.056, 309.101Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsTex. Estates Code §§ 308.051-308.056, 355.001-355.004, 355.060, 355.064, 355.102Verified Oct 19, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 4 months to 6 months.
See the Steps
Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
Texas has no state income tax, so only the federal final Form 1040 is due for the decedentTex. Const. Art. VIII, § 24-a (added by Proposition 4, Nov. 5, 2019; former § 24 repealed)Verified Sep 20, 2026View source; a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only for estates above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Get the Answer
How Does Step-Up in Basis Work?
Inherited assets in Texas take a basis reset to fair market value on the date of death26 USC § 1014Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the gain on a later sale faces no state capital gains taxTex. Const. Art. VIII § 24-b, CAPITAL GAINS TAX PROHIBITED (added Nov. 4, 2025) — "the legislature may not impose a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust"; and § 24-a, INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX PROHIBITED (added Nov. 5, 2019)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Calculate the Tax
