By Ben Jimenez
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Lewisville, TX
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November 1, 2026
Short answer: if the person who passed lived in Lewisville, the case almost always goes through the Denton County probate courts. Someone has to get legal authority to sign for the estate, and only then can the house close. You can line up an agent, clean out the house, and even take offers early. The closing waits on the paperwork.
Below is how that plays out in Lewisville specifically, what happens when the family is split, and an honest look at what ends up in the heirs' pockets.
Texas law puts a probate case in the county where the person lived, not where they died or where the house sits. Most of Lewisville is in Denton County, so most Lewisville estates are filed there. A small part of the city crosses into Dallas County, so check the address before anyone files.
Denton County has two statutory probate courts, Probate Court No. 1 and Probate Court No. 2. Probate Court No. 1 is at 3900 Morse Street in Denton, and the court accepts e-filing. Its associate judge also holds dockets by Zoom, which helps if some of the family lives out of state.
After the application is filed, notice has to be posted at the courthouse for at least 10 days before the hearing can happen. At the hearing the judge admits the will (or decides who the heirs are), and the executor takes an oath and receives letters. Those letters are what a title company wants to see before it lets the executor sign a deed.
No, and this is the part families get wrong most often. Who signs at closing depends on which route the court uses.
If you are reading this as the person named executor in a will that grants independent administration, you are in the easiest seat. If there is no will, expect every heir to be part of the sale in some form.
Picture three adult siblings. Their father passed without a will, and one of them has been living in his Lewisville house and wants to stay. The other two want to sell.
Under Texas law, a house with no will passes straight to the heirs the moment of death, subject to the estate's debts. So those three siblings now co-own it. Without an appointed administrator, a buyer's title company will want all three signatures. One holdout can stop the sale.
There are ways through it. All the heirs can agree to name an independent administrator, but that agreement has to come from all of them. If they can't agree, the court can run a dependent administration and approve a sale. As a last resort, any co-owner can file to partition the property. When the house counts as heirs' property under Texas law, the siblings who want to keep it get a court-set chance to buy out the ones who asked for a sale, with 45 days to elect to buy.
If an heir's name or location is unknown, the court must appoint an attorney ad litem to represent them. Denton County's probate court notes that ad litem deposits went to $600 starting February 1, 2025. That's real money and real time, so search for every heir early.
Here is the honest version. The sale price is not the inheritance. Before anyone gets a check, money comes out for the mortgage payoff, any property taxes owed, creditor claims against the estate, attorney and court costs, and normal closing costs. Add the months of insurance, utilities, and lawn care while the house sits empty.
In September 2026, Lewisville homes sold for a median price of $373,650 and took an average of 57 days to sell, compared with 65 days a year earlier, according to Movoto. There were 304 active listings at the time. Buyers have choices, so a dated estate house priced off a neighbor's remodeled sale will sit.
Say a hypothetical estate house sells for $360,000 with a $120,000 mortgage still on it. The heirs are not splitting $360,000. They are splitting what is left after the payoff, closing costs, estate debts, and legal fees, and that number can be much smaller. Run that math before the family agrees on a price.
There is some good news on taxes. Texas repealed its inheritance tax effective September 1, 2015. And for federal income tax, an heir's basis in inherited property is generally its fair market value on the date of death, so a quick sale often produces little taxable gain. Confirm your situation with a CPA.
One plain note before you do anything: I'm a real estate agent, not a lawyer. Talk to a Texas probate attorney before you sign a listing agreement or a contract on an estate house. The right filing at the start saves months later.
If you've inherited a house in Lewisville and want to know what it would sell for as-is versus fixed up, call or text Ben Jimenez at 469-730-6895. I'll walk the house, give you real numbers for the net, and work around whatever the probate timeline turns out to be.
Generally yes. A will usually can't be admitted to probate after the fourth anniversary of the death unless the person applying shows they weren't in default. Letters testamentary also can't be issued on a will admitted late unless the application was filed within that four-year window.
The county where he lived, not where he died. Texas venue for probate follows the person's domicile, so a Lewisville resident's case normally goes to Denton County, or Dallas County if his home was in the small Dallas County part of the city.
No. Texas repealed its inheritance tax effective September 1, 2015. Federal estate tax and income tax are separate questions, so check with a CPA.
The executor has to publish notice to creditors within one month of receiving letters. Debts are paid from the estate, and any mortgage on the house is paid off at closing out of the sale proceeds.
Only in a dependent administration, where the court must enter an order approving the sale before the deed is delivered. An independent executor can sell without court approval unless the will says otherwise.
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