Williamson County sits directly north of Travis County and is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States. Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Pflugerville, and Hutto are all here, along with the Sun City Georgetown 55+ community that produces a meaningful share of the county’s probate caseload. When a parent or relative dies and leaves a house anywhere in Williamson County, the executor or administrator is the one who has to sell it. This guide walks through the probate process specific to Williamson County, what selling an inherited home here looks like in 2026, and what executors should know that ordinary home sellers do not.
I am Jeremy Kritt, a Texas Real Estate Broker (TREC license number 692961) and the owner of Kritt Real Estate LLC (firm license number 9011672). Texas Probate Real Estate is the probate-specialty brand of that brokerage. Williamson County is part of the firm’s Austin-metro anchor market. I work probate sales here regularly. None of what follows is legal advice. It is the practical reality of what these transactions look like on the ground.
Williamson County probate, the basics
Williamson County is structured differently from Travis and Bexar for probate purposes. Unlike Travis County (with two dedicated statutory probate courts) and Bexar County (also with two), Williamson County does not have a dedicated statutory probate court. Probate matters in Williamson are handled by the County Courts at Law and, for contested or larger estates, by the District Court.
Williamson County has multiple County Courts at Law operating out of the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown. Your probate filing is assigned to one of them based on the assignment system the clerk uses. The procedure under Texas Estates Code is the same as in Travis or Bexar (Texas probate law is statewide), but the court calendar, scheduling practices, and the specific judge you draw will differ. A probate-experienced attorney in Williamson knows the bench and knows how to schedule efficiently.
Filing fees for probate in Williamson County are in the same general range as the other large Central Texas counties, typically running between approximately three hundred and five hundred dollars depending on the instrument being filed (will admission, application for administration, or other). The Clerk publishes a current fee schedule.
Two paths through Williamson County probate
Independent administration
This is the typical Texas path and what most well-drafted wills request. Under independent administration in Williamson County, the personal representative (the executor named in the will, or the administrator appointed if there is no will) handles estate matters without returning to court at each step. That includes listing and selling the real estate. After Letters Testamentary are issued, the personal representative can sign listing agreements, accept offers, negotiate counter-offers, and close without separate court approval. Most Williamson County independent administrations wrap up in approximately six months.
Dependent administration
This is the court-supervised version. The County Court at Law has to approve significant decisions, including the sale of real estate. This path is required in contested estates, in estates where the will did not authorize independent administration and the heirs do not all consent, or in estates with minor or incapacitated heirs. Dependent administrations in Williamson County typically take nine to twelve months. A real estate sale under dependent administration requires an application to sell, court approval at a hearing, and an order approving the sale before closing.
Most Williamson County probate property sales proceed under independent administration. If your Williamson County probate attorney is recommending dependent, it usually means there is a specific reason. None of those are reasons to panic. They just mean the process has more guardrails.
Letters Testamentary and the 90-day clock
Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration when there is no will) are the document that gives the executor or administrator legal authority to act on behalf of the estate. Nothing about the real estate can move until Letters are issued. Banks, title companies, and buyers all require them.
In Williamson County, Letters are typically issued within two to four weeks of the initial probate filing, assuming there are no contests and the will is admitted to probate without issue. Once Letters are in hand, the personal representative can sign the listing agreement on behalf of the estate, the brokerage can begin marketing the property, offers can be accepted, and title companies will treat the Letters as proof of authority during closing.
After Letters issue, the statutory clock starts on a separate deadline: the 90-day inventory. The personal representative has 90 days to file an inventory, appraisement, and list of claims with the court. The inventory must list everything the estate owns and its fair market value as of the date of death. This is one of the most-missed deadlines in Texas probate. If you are selling the house and the inventory has not been filed, your attorney needs to be on it.
Selling a probate house in Williamson County, step by step
Listing
The personal representative signs the listing agreement on behalf of the estate, not personally. Under Texas Property Code §5.008(e), a fiduciary administering a decedent’s estate is exempt from furnishing the standard Seller’s Disclosure Notice. The estate sells without that form. Williamson County buyers and their agents are used to seeing this. Federal lead-based paint disclosure still applies for homes built before 1978, and HOA disclosures still apply where the property is in an HOA. Pricing reflects the property’s actual condition, including deferred maintenance, vacant-home issues, and personal property that needs to be cleared out before showings.
Marketing
Probate properties in Williamson County attract specific buyer interest the moment the case is filed. Cash investors, wholesalers, and we-buy-houses operators monitor county probate filings (Williamson has been especially aggressive territory for them because of the volume and the strong appreciation in Round Rock, Cedar Park, and Leander). Their offers are routinely twenty to forty percent below open-market value. The right move is almost always to ignore them and put the property on the open market through a broker. A broker-marketed Williamson County probate property in reasonable condition will sell well above what the wholesalers offer, and the difference goes to the heirs.
Offers and negotiation
The personal representative reviews and accepts offers. In a Williamson County independent administration, the personal representative makes the decision directly. In a dependent administration, the accepted offer has to be presented to the County Court at Law for approval before closing.
Inspections
Buyers usually want an inspection. Inspections on Williamson County probate properties commonly turn up deferred maintenance items, particularly in older Round Rock or Georgetown homes. The personal representative is not personally on the hook for repairs (the estate is), but the negotiation around what gets fixed versus credited has to factor in what the estate can actually afford. Many out-of-area executors prefer credits over coordinating repairs from a distance.
Title
The title company will need copies of the will, the order admitting the will to probate, the Letters Testamentary, and any necessary tax certificates. A title officer who handles Williamson County probate routinely knows what they need without prompting. Title selection matters more on a probate sale than on an ordinary sale.
Closing
The personal representative signs all closing documents on behalf of the estate. The proceeds go to the estate’s account, not to the personal representative personally, and from there they are distributed to the heirs according to the will (or per Texas intestacy rules when there is no will). Most Williamson County probate sales, once listed without major complications, close in 30 to 60 days. The court timeline (getting Letters issued) is usually the longer constraint, not the sale.
Williamson County cities and communities I work probate sales in
Williamson County covers a large area north and northwest of Austin. Common areas where I handle probate transactions include:
Round Rock: the largest city in Williamson County. Brushy Creek, Forest Creek, Teravista, Mayfield Ranch, Behrens Ranch, Stone Canyon, Cat Hollow, Walsh Ranch, and the older central Round Rock neighborhoods.
Cedar Park: Twin Creeks, Buttercup Creek, Cypress Creek, Heritage Park, and the established Cedar Park neighborhoods near Whitestone Boulevard and 183A.
Leander: Larkspur, Bryson, Crystal Falls, Travisso, and the rapidly developing 183A corridor neighborhoods.
Georgetown: Wolf Ranch, San Gabriel, the historic downtown Georgetown neighborhoods, and Sun City Georgetown (the Del Webb 55+ active adult community that contains thousands of homes and produces a meaningful share of Williamson County probate cases each year).
Pflugerville: Falcon Pointe, Highland Park, Avalon, Heatherwilde, and the established Pflugerville neighborhoods. Pflugerville straddles the Travis-Williamson county line; the majority of Pflugerville sits in Travis County, but parts extend into Williamson.
Other Williamson County cities and unincorporated areas: Hutto, Taylor, Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Granger, Florence, Bartlett, Coupland, Andice, and Briggs. These cover the rural and acreage parts of the county, where probate sales often involve larger lots, land, and sometimes agricultural exemption considerations.
Common Williamson County probate scenarios
Sun City Georgetown estates
Sun City Georgetown is a Del Webb 55+ active adult community in Georgetown with thousands of homes. Because of the age demographic, a significant share of Williamson County probate cases each year involve Sun City properties. The buyer pool for Sun City is specific (you have to qualify under the community’s age restrictions), the HOA has its own rules and disclosures, and the comparable sales analysis is a closed system because the community is master-planned with predictable floor plans. Probate sales in Sun City require a broker who understands the community, its restrictions, and its buyer pool.
The executor lives in another state
This is one of the most common scenarios I see in Williamson County. Many homeowners moved to Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, or Georgetown from another state over the last twenty years, and now their adult children live where the family was before the move. The decedent’s house is sitting empty in Williamson County, the executor is in California or Ohio or somewhere not driving distance, and the property needs decisions. The whole transaction can be handled remotely. The executor flies in once for closing or signs via mobile notary in their home state, and the broker manages everything on the ground. Remote-executor work is a specialty of the firm. I run this workflow on a regular basis.
Recent-build homes with appreciation
Williamson County saw enormous build-out from the mid-2000s through the present. Many of the homes now in probate were bought new in the last twenty years, and they have appreciated significantly. This is generally good news for the estate (more proceeds to the heirs) but creates capital gains considerations the personal representative should discuss with the estate’s CPA, particularly around stepped-up basis on the date of death.
Acreage and rural property
In the more rural parts of Williamson County (Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Taylor, Florence, Bartlett, Briggs), probate properties often include acreage rather than a city lot. The pricing analysis is different, the buyer pool is different, and there are sometimes agricultural exemption questions that affect both the inventory valuation and the sale strategy.
Heirs do not agree on what to do with the house
Two or three siblings inherit the property and they want different things. One wants to sell quickly. Another wants to rent it out. Another wants to keep it. In Texas, under independent administration, the personal representative has authority to make the call. When the heirs cannot agree and they end up as co-owners after the estate closes, the situation can move into a partition action. This is one of the most emotionally loaded scenarios in probate and benefits enormously from working with a broker who has navigated it before.
Deferred maintenance in older Round Rock or Georgetown homes
Common in the older neighborhoods of central Round Rock and historic Georgetown, where homes have been lived in by the decedent for thirty or forty years without major updates. The decision is whether to invest in pre-listing improvements, sell as-is to a retail buyer who will discount for condition, or sell to an investor at a deeper discount. The right answer depends on the estate’s cash position, the heirs’ goals, and the specific market segment of the property.
Why work with a probate-focused broker in Williamson County
Most real estate agents working in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, or Georgetown have done one or two probate sales in their career. They are competent at general real estate but they treat probate as another kind of transaction. Probate has its own pace, its own paperwork, its own emotional dynamics, and its own buyer pool. A broker who handles probate weekly knows the title officers who routinely close probate sales, knows the Williamson County probate attorneys, and knows the difference between an investor lowball and a real offer.
I run an owner-operator brokerage. I am the owner of Kritt Real Estate LLC, the broker of record, and the broker who is on every probate transaction personally. There is no team agent. The person who picks up the phone on your first call is the person who lists the property, negotiates the offers, coordinates with the title company, and signs at closing.
I am a Texas Real Estate Broker (license number 692961), which puts me in the top approximately ten percent of Texas real estate license holders. The broker license requires four or more years of experience, hundreds of additional education hours beyond the agent license, and a separate examination. For an executor or attorney looking at who to trust with the largest single asset in an estate, the broker credential matters.
I work alongside the probate attorney managing the case, not in place of one. The attorney handles the legal proceeding. I handle the real estate. The coordination is what matters because court timelines and sale timelines have to stay in sync.
Frequently asked questions about Williamson County probate real estate
How long does probate take in Williamson County?
Independent administration in Williamson County typically wraps up in about six months. Dependent administration takes nine to twelve months. The longest pole is usually the time it takes to get Letters Testamentary issued, which is typically two to four weeks after the initial filing. Once Letters are in hand, the sale itself typically closes in 30 to 60 days.
Does Williamson County have a probate court?
Williamson County does not have a dedicated statutory probate court like Travis or Bexar. Probate matters are handled by the County Courts at Law operating out of the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown. For contested or larger estates, the District Court has jurisdiction. The substantive law is the same Texas Estates Code that applies statewide.
Can I sell a probate house in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, or Georgetown before probate is finished?
Yes, in independent administration. Once Letters Testamentary are issued, the personal representative has authority to list and sell. The estate does not have to be fully closed for the sale to happen. In dependent administration, the court has to approve the sale before closing.
I inherited a house in Sun City Georgetown. What do I need to know?
Sun City is a Del Webb 55+ active adult community with thousands of homes. The buyer pool is restricted to qualifying age-55+ buyers (with limited exceptions). The HOA has specific rules and required disclosures. Pricing is informed by a closed system of master-planned floor plans, so the comparable sales analysis is more predictable than in an open neighborhood. Sun City probate sales benefit from a broker who works the community regularly.
Who signs the listing agreement and the closing documents on a Williamson County probate sale?
The personal representative (executor or administrator), acting on behalf of the estate, signs everything. Not personally. The title company will need Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to confirm the personal representative’s authority.
I live out of state and the inherited property is in Williamson County. Can I sell it remotely?
Yes. The transaction can be managed remotely. I work remote-executor cases in Williamson County regularly. You will need to either fly in once for closing or sign via mobile notary in your home state. Texas title companies are accustomed to this and the workflow is well-understood.
Should I take a cash offer from an investor who reached out after the probate was filed?
Almost never, without checking the open market first. Cash offers on probate properties typically come in twenty to forty percent below open-market value. Williamson County has been particularly aggressive territory for cash-offer operators because of strong appreciation. A broker-marketed property in reasonable condition will sell well above the wholesale offer in most cases.
The property is acreage in Liberty Hill or Taylor. Does that change anything?
Yes. Rural Williamson County properties often have different buyer pools, sometimes carry agricultural exemptions that affect tax treatment, and require a broker who can price land along with the improvements. The probate procedure is the same; the real estate marketing approach is different from a city lot.
What does the probate attorney do versus what does the real estate broker do?
The probate attorney handles the court proceeding: filing the will, getting Letters Testamentary issued, the inventory, dealing with creditors, the final estate accounting. The broker handles the real estate sale: listing, marketing, offers, inspections, title, closing. The two roles coordinate but do not overlap.
Does Texas Probate Real Estate serve the smaller Williamson County cities and rural areas?
Yes. The firm handles probate property sales across the full Williamson County footprint: Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Hutto, Taylor, Liberty Hill, Jarrell, Granger, Florence, Bartlett, Coupland, Andice, and Briggs, plus all surrounding unincorporated areas.
Schedule a consultation
If you are working through a Williamson County probate sale and want to talk through your specific situation, schedule a free consultation. We can cover where the case is, what timeline you are looking at, the property’s condition, and what makes sense for the heirs. Phone: (512) 686-3076. Or book online: texasprobaterealestate.com/consultation/.