Documents / Probate
Probate
The court-supervised process of administering a deceased person's estate.
Probate is the formal legal process by which a court oversees the transfer of a deceased person's assets to their heirs or beneficiaries. The case file is the canonical record of who took what, signed by the judge — which makes it the gold-standard evidence for any title curative gap involving a decedent.
Probate procedures vary by state. Texas has independent administration, muniment of title, and small-estate affidavit options. New Mexico uses informal and formal probate under the Uniform Probate Code. Louisiana operates under a successions regime that's entirely distinct.
For mineral curative, what matters is whether the probate addressed the mineral interest specifically. A probate that distributed "all real property" is not the same as one that named specific mineral tracts. Both are useful; both are sometimes inadequate without supplemental affidavits.
Filed at: Probate court (county or district, depending on state)
Typically appears when: Decedent owned property at death · Will needs to be admitted · Heirs need legal title to estate assets
Also called: probate filing, probate case, probate proceeding
Related documents
Affidavit of Heirship
A sworn statement identifying the heirs of a decedent, recorded in deed records.
Will Filed for Record
A copy of a will recorded in deed records to put the public on notice of testamentary disposition.
Letters Testamentary
A court order authorizing the executor to act on behalf of the estate.
Muniment of Title
A Texas-specific probate procedure that admits the will without a full administration.
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