Updated October 16, 2026. Quick answer: A Texas affidavit of heirship is a sworn statement of facts about a decedent’s family, using the statutory form in Estates Code section 203.002. Under section 203.001 a court receives such a recorded statement as prima facie evidence once it has been of record for five years or more. The affiant swears to personal knowledge of the facts, and the sworn statement is recorded with the county.
At a glance
| Item | Figure printed in the statutes |
|---|---|
| Prima facie evidence once the statement is of record | 5 years or more |
| County clerk fee, first page of a real property record | $5.00 |
| County clerk fee, each additional page | $4.00 |
| Optional additional fee under Sec. 118.0131 (Hidalgo County and Cameron County only) | not more than $10 |
What an affidavit of heirship is and when Texas uses it
Chapter 203 of the Texas Estates Code is titled “NONJUDICIAL EVIDENCE OF HEIRSHIP”. Its first section is headed “RECORDED STATEMENT OF FACTS AS PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE OF HEIRSHIP.” The rule starts with what a court does with such a statement: “A court shall receive in a proceeding to declare heirship or a suit involving title to property a statement of facts concerning the family history, genealogy, marital status, or the identity of the heirs of a decedent as prima facie evidence of the facts contained in the statement” if the conditions that follow are met.
The second section gives the sworn version a name and a shape: “An affidavit of facts concerning the identity of a decedent’s heirs may be in substantially the following form:” and the form is headed “AFFIDAVIT OF FACTS CONCERNING THE IDENTITY OF HEIRS”. Section 203.001 ties the two together: “may be in the form prescribed by Section 203.002.”
This is a different route from the court-approved small estate affidavit, which is covered on the Texas small estate affidavit page. The chapter’s own title, nonjudicial evidence, describes the affidavit of heirship as evidence of family facts, and the quoted sections do not give it the force of a court order. For when a Texas estate needs a court at all, see when probate is required in Texas.
The statute text on this page was read from the Texas Legislature’s statutes file server for Estates Code chapter 203 and Local Government Code chapter 118, and that site served it on 2026-10-16. The Estates Code sections carry the history line “Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 2502), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2014.” Statutes are amended by later sessions, so check the current text before relying on a section.
Who can sign
The form opens with the affiant appearing before an officer: “Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared” the affiant, “who, being first duly sworn, upon his/her oath states:” Section 203.001 sets the formality for the instrument: “legally executed and acknowledged or sworn to before, and certified by, an officer authorized to take acknowledgments or oaths, as applicable”.
The statute names no relationship that qualifies a person to sign. What the form requires is knowledge: “I am personally familiar with the family and marital history of” the decedent, and “I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this affidavit.” Item 2 asks how long the affiant knew the decedent: “I knew decedent from” one date to another. The form also carries a notary block: “Sworn to and subscribed to before me on”, followed by the signature and printed name of the notarial officer.
The form separately lists other people who know the family. Item 9 is marked optional and asks for names of “persons with knowledge, or state” none.
If you want a ready-made form
Review LawDepot’s affidavit of heirship
LawDepot sells an affidavit of heirship template, the document in which a person with knowledge of a family’s history states who the heirs of someone who has died are. Compare it with the statutory form on this page, and with what your county clerk will accept for recording, before you sign anything.
An affidavit of heirship can affect who is treated as owning real estate. If you need advice about your situation, ask a Texas probate attorney before choosing a document service.
The link goes to LawDepot, a paid legal-document service, not Clear Money Guide and not a law firm. LawDepot pays Clear Money Guide a commission if you buy a document there, at no extra cost to you. You are under no obligation to buy anything. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Review LawDepot’s affidavit of heirshipOpens on LawDepot. The statute and the county fee statute are linked in the sources below.
How our partner relationships workWhat the affidavit must contain
The statutory form has sixteen numbered items. Items 6 to 8 carry bracketed instructions to use them only when the decedent had no surviving descendants or not both parents, and item 16 is open ended. Here is the wording the form uses for each:
| Item | Wording in the statutory form |
|---|---|
| 1 | “I am personally familiar with the family and marital history of” the decedent, and the affiant states “I have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this affidavit.” |
| 2 | “(insert date of death)” and “(insert place of death)” |
| 3 | “Decedent’s marital history was as follows:” |
| 4 | “Decedent had the following children:” |
| 5 | “Decedent did not have or adopt any other children and did not take any other children into decedent’s home or raise any other children, except:” |
| 6 to 8 | “Decedent’s mother was:” “Decedent’s father was:” “Decedent had the following siblings:” |
| 9 | “The following persons have knowledge regarding the decedent, the identity of decedent’s children, if any, parents, or siblings, if any:” |
| 10 and 11 | “Decedent died without leaving a written will.” “There has been no administration of decedent’s estate.” |
| 12 and 13 | “Decedent left no debts that are unpaid, except:” “There are no unpaid estate or inheritance taxes, except:” |
| 14 | “To the best of my knowledge, decedent owned an interest in the following real property:” |
| 15 and 16 | “The following were the heirs of decedent:” “(Insert additional information as appropriate, such as size of the decedent’s estate.)” |
Two items tell the affiant to change the printed words when the facts differ. After the will statement the form says “(Modify statement if decedent left a written will.)” and after the administration statement “(Modify statement if there has been administration of decedent’s estate.)” The form is described as one the affidavit “may be in substantially the following form”, so wording tracks the form rather than copying it blindly.
Recording the affidavit and what it proves
Recording is built into the proof rule. The statement counts as prima facie evidence when “the affidavit or instrument containing the statement has been of record for five years or more in the deed records of a county in this state in which the property is located” when the title suit starts, or in “the deed records of a county in this state in which the decedent was domiciled or had a fixed place of residence”.
What the statute says about errors and other people’s rights is just as important as the five-year rule. On errors: “anyone interested in a proceeding in which the affidavit or instrument is offered in evidence may prove the true facts.” On other claimants: “An affidavit of facts concerning the identity of a decedent’s heirs does not affect the rights of an omitted heir or creditor of the decedent as otherwise provided by law.”
The section also keeps other routes open: “This section is cumulative of all other statutes on the same subject”. The text printed for chapter 203 contains two sections, so it does not describe filing steps beyond these.
An estate that needs to move title now, rather than build evidence over five years, is looking at other tools, such as those on the Texas transfer on death deed page for property that is still owned.
The county clerk fee for recording a document
Local Government Code section 118.011 is the county clerk fee schedule. It begins: “A county clerk shall collect the following fees for services rendered to any person:” The line for the real property records is “Real Property Records Filing (Sec. 118.013)”, and section 118.013 defines it: “is for filing and recording, including indexing, in the real property records in the office of the county clerk a document that is authorized or required to be filed in those records.”
| Line | Real property records filing, as printed |
|---|---|
| First page | “for the first page . . . . . . . . . . . $ 5.00” |
| Each added page | “for each additional page or part of a page on which there are visible marks of any kind . . . . . . . . . . . $ 4.00” |
Illustration, not a statutory example: a three page document would be the first page at $5.00 plus two additional pages at $4.00 each, so $5.00 plus 2 times $4.00 is $5.00 plus $8.00, or $13.00. That is only the schedule line above. The same section lists a further line, “Real Property Records Filing (Sec. 118.0131)”, with a ceiling of “not more than $10” when “the commissioners court of the county adopts the fee”. Section 118.0131 itself names only the county clerk of Hidalgo County and the county clerk of Cameron County. Ask the county clerk for the total before filing.
Common mistakes
- Treating the recorded affidavit as final proof. Section 203.001 says a court shall receive the statement as prima facie evidence if, among other conditions, the affidavit or instrument has been of record for five years or more, and that anyone interested in the proceeding may prove the true facts if the affidavit has an error.
- Assuming it settles the claims of other heirs or creditors. The statute says the affidavit does not affect the rights of an omitted heir or creditor of the decedent as otherwise provided by law.
- Copying the printed form without changing the will and administration items. The form itself tells the affiant to modify the statement if the decedent left a written will or if there has been administration of the estate.
Related: Texas small estate affidavit, Texas intestate succession, when probate is required in Texas, Texas transfer on death deed, and Texas probate filing fee.
Sources
- Texas Estates Code chapter 203 (Texas Legislature statutes site): https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/ES/pdf/ES.203.pdf
- Texas Local Government Code chapter 118 (Texas Legislature statutes site): https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/LG/pdf/LG.118.pdf
Read from the statutes linked above on October 16, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Statutes are amended, and a Texas probate attorney or the county clerk is the right place to confirm anything consequential.