Documents / Family Settlement Agreement
Family Settlement Agreement
A private agreement among heirs to distribute estate assets, recognized in some states.
A family settlement agreement is a contract among heirs that allocates specific assets to specific people — often deviating from what the will or intestacy statute would otherwise produce. In Texas the FSA has strong recognition; in other states it's recognized as a contract but doesn't override probate.
For mineral curative, a recorded FSA addressing mineral interests is essentially equivalent to an executor's deed signed by all parties. Operators love it because there's no contested party left to come back later.
Filed at: County clerk deed records (when recorded)
Typically appears when: Heirs disagree on distribution · Probate is open and parties want to settle · Heirs want to avoid the cost of formal partition
Also called: FSA, settlement among heirs, heir agreement
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