What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in Texas?
Texas allows you to name your own agent in advanceTex. Health & Safety Code § 711.002(a)(1), (b), (c), (g)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.
Burial on private property is permittedTex. Health & Safety Code § 711.008Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Texas. No land may be used for burial in or within 1 to 5 miles of a city of 5,000 or more people, the distance growing with the city's population, unless an exemption applies, such as a private family cemetery established and operating on or before September 1, 2009 (§ 711.008(a), (c)). Outside those zones a family may bury on its own land, and a family cemetery of 10 acres or less is exempt from the perpetual-care cemetery chapter (§ 712.002).
Texas imposes a 48-hour minimum waiting periodTex. Health & Safety Code § 716.004Verified Oct 17, 2026View source before cremation. A cremation authorization form signed by the authorizing agent, the person with the right to control disposition under § 711.002, and a death certificate or other death record showing the remains may be cremated (§ 716.051). The burial-transit permit serves as that death record (22 Tex. Admin. Code § 205.11(b)). In a county with a medical examiner, the crematory also needs the examiner's certificate that an autopsy was performed or was not necessary (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 49.25, § 10).
Texas sets an order for who controls the disposition of remains: surviving spouse of the decedent, then any one of the surviving adult children of the decedent, then either one of the surviving parents of the decedentTex. Health & Safety Code § 711.002(a)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in advanceTex. Health & Safety Code § 711.002(a)(1), (b), (c), (g)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the default order. Those wishes can be recorded alongside the rest of an estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.
Embalming is not required by lawTex. Health & Safety Code § 711.008Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Texas. Texas law does not require embalming, and the state health rules say they do not require it before burial or cremation (25 Tex. Admin. Code § 181.5(b)). A body held or in transit more than 24 hours after death must be kept at 34 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, embalmed, or sealed in a container that prevents seepage and odors (25 Tex. Admin. Code § 181.4). An unembalmed body shipped by common carrier travels in an air-tight metal casket or an air-tight shipping case.
In Texas, a licensed funeral director is not required — a family may legally direct the disposition itselfTex. Occ. Code § 651.001(7)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. A funeral director's license covers arranging a disposition for compensation, so a family acting for its own relative needs no license (Tex. Occ. Code § 651.001(7)). The person who takes custody of the body files the report of death within 24 hours, obtains any burial-transit permit, and files the death certificate with the local registrar's help (25 Tex. Admin. Code § 181.2; § 193.002).
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Learn moreForms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Texas
Free Texas forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
Notice to Creditors
In Texas, the notice to creditors is published for 1Tex. Estates Code §§ 308.051-308.056, 355.001-355.004, 355.060, 355.064, 355.102Verified Oct 19, 2026View source weeks in a local newspaper, and creditors have 4 monthsTex. Est. Code § 355.060; § 403.055 (independent administration); § 355.001Verified Sep 8, 2026View source from receipt of the mailed notice to present claims.
Renunciation of Executor
In Texas, a person named as executor may decline to serveTex. Estates Code §§ 301.051, 306.001Verified Sep 23, 2026View source before anyone is appointed.
Affidavit of Heirship
In Texas, heirs put their identity on the land records with an affidavit of heirship recorded with the countyTex. Estates Code ch. 203 (Nonjudicial Evidence of Heirship)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source; once recorded it is prima facie evidence of the facts stated.
Estate Inventory
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.
Estate Closing
In Texas, the personal representative is discharged automatically once the statutory period runsTex. Est. Code §§ 405.007, 405.003, 362.012, 362.013Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and no final accounting is required.
IRS Form 1310
Claim a refund due a deceased taxpayer on the official form, on the box the form routes you to, with what the form says to attach.
Letter of Instruction
Prepare the letter a bank or insurer requests during estate settlement, addressed to its claims department.
Last Will and Testament
In Texas, a will is signed before 2Tex. Est. Code § 251.051Verified Sep 16, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyTex. Est. Code § 251.051Verified Sep 16, 2026View source.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Texas
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Texas: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Texas costs an estimated $27,634Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2.2%Modeled estimate under Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.5%Modeled estimate under Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Texas is a community property state, so the surviving spouse already owns half of what the couple acquired during the marriage. Without a will in Texas, descendants divide what passes to them per capita with representationTex. Est. Code § 201.101Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, and an heir must survive the decedent by 120 hoursTex. Est. Code § 121.052Verified Oct 21, 2026View source to inherit.
How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
Texas levies no estate or inheritance taxNo state estate or inheritance tax; Tex. Const. Art. VIII, § 26 (added Nov. 4, 2025 — HJR 2, 89th Leg., R.S., approved as Prop. 8) constitutionally prohibits any state estate, inheritance, or death tax. Former inheritance tax (Tex. Tax Code Ch. 211) repealed by SB 752 (84th Leg., R.S. 2015), effective Sept. 1, 2015; pick-up tax inoperative since EGTRRA 2001.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; only the federal estate tax applies above $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
What Taxes Apply to My Inheritance?
Texas imposes no inheritance or estate taxNo state estate or inheritance tax; Tex. Const. Art. VIII, § 26 (added Nov. 4, 2025 — HJR 2, 89th Leg., R.S., approved as Prop. 8) constitutionally prohibits any state estate, inheritance, or death tax. Former inheritance tax (Tex. Tax Code Ch. 211) repealed by SB 752 (84th Leg., R.S. 2015), effective Sept. 1, 2015; pick-up tax inoperative since EGTRRA 2001.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; probate assets arrive when the estate closes, 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate.
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.
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Texas costs an estimated $27,634Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2.2%Modeled estimate under Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.5%Modeled estimate under Tex. Est. Code § 352.051 (reasonable and necessarily incurred fees; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $75,000Tex. Est. Code § 205.001/205.006Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
When Do I Have to Withdraw an Inherited IRA?
See which federal withdrawal rules apply to an inherited IRA, Roth IRA, or employer plan, the deadline year, and the missed-withdrawal tax.
How Much Can an Executor Charge?
Texas pays executors reasonable compensationTex. Est. Code §§ 352.002, 352.003Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, typically 2.2%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.8%Estimated from the 16 state statutes that set an executor fee schedule (median and interquartile range at this estate value)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate.
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In-depth guides covering Texas probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.