This one is a full podcast episode, and it earned its length. I sat down with a probate attorney who has been licensed in Texas for 33 years, coming up on 34, and the conversation hit three pitfalls I watch families fall into over and over: affidavits of heirship that title companies now reject, the new wave of DIY legal mistakes driven by AI, and investors who get an executor to sign things before they have the authority to sign anything.
If you only have time for the recap, here are the pitfalls and what to do about them. The full episode is embedded below.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal, financial, or real estate advice. Talk to a qualified probate attorney about your specific situation.
Pitfall 1: Assuming an affidavit of heirship will sail through
The attorney’s intake process starts with one question: what is in the estate? That drives everything, because in Texas there are several ways to handle things. A muniment of title is a short type of probate usually used just to transfer real estate when there is only a house and no debts. Whether there was a will. If there was no will, the state of Texas dictates where the property goes and you have to work out who the heirs are. Sometimes it is as simple as an affidavit of heirship signed by two disinterested witnesses, and she generally only uses those for clean cases: husband and wife, children only together, neither with kids from another marriage, so the property essentially passes to the surviving spouse.
Then came the warning. Lately, title companies have started rejecting these affidavits. She talked to a friend, a former title attorney who left to do probate law, about why. The answer: title companies had claims on affidavit deals where an heir got left off and a policy had already been issued, and they got skittish. The friend said that is part of why she closed down her title business, because it was getting too difficult. The attorney even told a client to just have their title company draft the affidavit, and the title company refused. They do not want to be in that business anymore.
She was careful not to overstate it. In a closed Texas probate lawyers’ group, some attorneys reported the same problem and another said he had never had trouble, so it may be regional. Her title-attorney friend was hitting it over in the Fort Worth area too.
Takeaway: an affidavit of heirship is common and often fine, but do not assume it will go through. Vet the witnesses and the heirs carefully instead of pushing it through, and have a probate attorney involved before the house is under contract.
Pitfall 2: Letting AI play lawyer (or play real estate agent)
The attorney does not have a problem with technology, but she is watching AI create a mess. People are drafting pleadings and filing court cases with ChatGPT and not checking the cited statutes. She had a matter where both parties were in Texas, the other side kept citing an interstate statute that did not apply because nobody was out of state, and they cited it over and over without ever checking. She won. Her point was not “AI is bad,” it was that people do not understand how the law works, the different kinds of statutes, or how they apply to a specific case.
I shared the real estate version. On a referral listing appointment, the client photographed every page of the listing paperwork, fed it to ChatGPT, and the tool sent him questions. Many were technically true but did not apply to his situation, and it sent him down rabbit holes that burned a lot of time. Questions from a client are normal and welcome. The problem is when an AI tool becomes the *primary* source, trusted over the person who does this every day, when the client does this maybe once every seven years and things have changed.
Takeaway: use AI to get smarter and ask better questions, not to replace the attorney or the experienced agent. There is a lot of outdated and inaccurate legal information online, and AI confidently repeats it.
Pitfall 3: Signing with an investor before you have authority
This is the cautionary tale, and it is the kind of thing I see constantly. Once a probate filing becomes public, investors descend, including wholesalers, who the attorney noted many people do not even understand. As I explained on the episode, wholesalers make a contract, sometimes on the Texas Real Estate Commission’s One to Four Family Residential Contract (resale) and often on a proprietary contract with no protections for the seller, lock up the property, and then go looking for a buyer they may or may not find, all while the seller’s time runs out.
Her client’s story: father died without a will, so the probate type is an administration. There is dependent and independent. Independent is where all the heirs sign a document agreeing to be independent, the judge swears in the administrator and largely steps back, and a court-appointed attorney ad litem researches and reports who the heirs are so a judgment can set everyone’s shares. Dependent is where holdout heirs force you back to court for permission on nearly every step, including selling a house. They were trying to do an independent administration. Before anything was even filed, the client had signed a contract with a “we buy houses” type company to sell her father’s house. The attorney’s reaction was exactly right: what authority do you have to sign that contract right now? You are not even the administrator. The contract is not even valid. Later the client called and said the house was sold, “we just did affidavits of heirship,” and the attorney did not even know who those heirs were or whether it closed with a title company.
The fallout she laid out: a left-off heir, maybe an unpopular sibling, can find out and sue and pursue a claim. If it closed with a title company, a claim can be filed against the title company. And she questioned whether the client had authority to sign the original contract at all without letters of administration.
Takeaway: do not sign a sale contract before the court has actually appointed you and you understand whether the administration is independent or dependent. On my listing appointments I physically inspect the letters and confirm what kind of administration it is before anything gets signed, because that distinction changes everything about timing and authority.
The thread tying all three together
The attorney’s broader advice was refreshingly plain. When someone dies, go talk to a probate lawyer and just ask “do I need to do anything?” Many attorneys, including her, do not charge for a probate consultation. It costs you time and can save real heartache and money. She also pushes executors to be open and honest with the other heirs, because silence around money is what makes people suspicious and lawyer up. With a validly drafted will and no fighting, she said probate is often pretty seamless and can wrap in two or three months.
The pattern across all three pitfalls is the same: people try to save money or time by skipping the person who does this every day, and the shortcut quietly costs more than the help would have.
She mentioned her office is in the Temple/Belton area and gave her website. I have linked it below.
Watch the full episode on YouTube: Texas Probate Pitfalls: Affidavits of Heirship, DIY AI Mistakes, and Investor Risk
Guest: Nancy Perry Eaton, Law Office of Nancy Perry Eaton, PLLC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a title company reject an affidavit of heirship in Texas?
Yes. According to a 33-year Texas probate attorney, title companies have begun rejecting affidavits of heirship after claims were filed on deals where an heir was left off and a policy had already been issued. Some title companies have stopped drafting them entirely.
Is it safe to use ChatGPT for probate or real estate legal questions?
The attorney’s experience is that DIY AI use causes problems when people treat it as the primary source. People file court documents citing statutes that do not apply and never check them. Use AI to ask better questions, not to replace an attorney or experienced agent.
Can an executor sign a contract to sell a house before being appointed?
The attorney strongly questioned this. In the case she described, the person signed a sale contract before being appointed administrator and before anything was even filed, and she stated the contract was not even valid because the person had no authority yet. Wait until the court appoints you.
What is the difference between independent and dependent administration?
Independent administration is where the heirs agree to it, the judge appoints the administrator and largely steps back. Dependent administration, often caused by holdout heirs, requires returning to court for permission on nearly every step, including selling a house.
How long does Texas probate take with a good will?
The attorney said that with a validly drafted will and no fighting among heirs, probate is often pretty seamless and can wrap in roughly two or three months, though selling the house may take a little longer.
Talk to a Real Person Before You Sign Anything
If a probate filing has gone public and the investor calls have started, do not sign anything until you understand your authority and your options. I work with probate attorneys like the one in this episode every week, and I will help you get the right person looking at your situation before a mistake gets locked into a contract.
Call 512-686-3076 or visit texasprobaterealestate.com. No pressure, no obligation.