When someone dies, an executor's job involves much more than locating a will and eventually distributing property to beneficiaries. During the months—or sometimes years—that an estate is being administered, someone has to protect the property in the meantime.

Who keeps insurance on the house? Who secures the deceased person's belongings? What happens if a roof begins leaking? What if somebody owes the deceased person money? Can an executor simply decide that collecting the debt is too much trouble?

Texas law addresses these questions directly. Executors and administrators have affirmative responsibilities to preserve estate property, take possession of certain assets, and make reasonable efforts to recover property and debts belonging to the estate.

For beneficiaries and executors alike, understanding these duties can prevent an estate from losing value while probate is pending.

Texas Executors Have a Statutory Duty to Care for Estate Property

Texas Estates Code § 351.101 establishes a straightforward standard:

“An executor or administrator of an estate shall take care of estate property as a prudent person would take of that person's own property.”

The statute goes further when the estate owns buildings. The executor or administrator generally must keep those buildings in good repair, subject to the exceptions contained in the statute.

This seemingly simple rule can have important consequences.

An executor does not merely hold legal authority over property. The executor is expected to exercise reasonable care while the property remains in the estate. (Texas Statutes)

What Does “Prudent” Care Mean in the Real World?

The statute does not provide a checklist for every estate. That makes sense because estates can contain radically different property.

One estate might consist almost entirely of a checking account. Another might include a house, several vehicles, rental property, investment accounts, valuable personal property, and a family business.

Prudent care therefore depends heavily on the circumstances.

For a house, reasonable steps may include maintaining appropriate insurance, securing the property, preventing avoidable deterioration, addressing necessary repairs, paying expenses when appropriate, and protecting the property from theft or damage.

For financial assets, the executor may need to identify accounts, safeguard records, and prevent unauthorized access.

The basic question is practical:

What would a reasonably careful person do to prevent this property from unnecessarily losing value?

An executor does not guarantee that nothing bad will happen. But simply ignoring estate property can create serious problems.

An Executor Must Take Possession of Personal Property and Important Records

Texas Estates Code § 351.102 is even more specific.

After receiving letters testamentary or letters of administration, the personal representative must:

“collect and take possession of the estate's personal property, record books, title papers, and other business papers.”

That can include far more than cash.

Depending on the estate, the representative may need to locate vehicles, jewelry, firearms, business records, stock certificates, deeds, titles, financial records, tax documents, and other property or papers belonging to the deceased person.

The purpose is not to give the executor the property personally. The executor holds and manages estate property in a representative capacity and ultimately must deliver property to those legally entitled to receive it when administration is completed or otherwise dispose of it according to law. (Texas Statutes)

What If Someone Else Has the Deceased Person’s Property?

This is where probate administration can become contentious.

Suppose Dad dies, and before the executor can take control of the estate, one child removes valuable property from Dad's house. Or perhaps someone has possession of a vehicle titled to the deceased person. Maybe a business associate possesses equipment belonging to the estate.

An executor does not necessarily have to shrug and accept the situation.

Texas Estates Code § 351.151 provides that when there is a reasonable prospect of recovery, a personal representative must use ordinary diligence to:

“collect all claims and debts due the estate”

and

“recover possession of all property to which the estate has claim or title.”

That duty can therefore extend beyond preserving property already sitting in the executor's hands. The representative may have to pursue property that should belong to the estate but is somewhere else. (Texas Statutes)

An Executor Can Sue to Recover Estate Property

Texas law also gives executors and administrators considerable authority to enforce the estate's rights.

Under Texas Estates Code § 351.054, an executor or administrator appointed in Texas may bring suit for recovery of personal property, debts, or damages. The statute also authorizes suits involving title to or possession of land and certain rights or injuries involving that land. (Texas Statutes)

That can matter when someone refuses voluntarily to return estate property.

Consider a simple example.

A deceased person loaned $30,000 to a friend. The promissory note remains unpaid when the lender dies. The debt does not simply disappear because the creditor died. It can become an asset of the estate, and the executor may have authority—and potentially a duty—to attempt collection.

Similarly, if someone wrongfully possesses valuable estate property, litigation may sometimes be necessary to recover it.

Can an Executor Decide a Debt Is Not Worth Collecting?

Not every theoretical claim should result in a lawsuit.

Suppose the estate has a $500 claim against someone who has disappeared, has no assets, and may be impossible to serve. Spending thousands of dollars pursuing that claim could make little economic sense.

Texas law recognizes that estate administration requires judgment.

Texas Estates Code § 351.051 allows a personal representative, with appropriate court authorization in circumstances covered by the statute, to take several actions concerning estate obligations and property, including compromising certain debts or claims and abandoning burdensome or worthless estate property. (Texas Statutes)

The executor's responsibility is therefore not necessarily to pursue every possible dollar at any cost. It is to exercise the authority applicable to the particular administration and act prudently for the estate.

What Happens If an Executor Simply Ignores Estate Property?

Section 351.151 contains some teeth.

If there is a reasonable prospect of collecting a claim or recovering property and the personal representative willfully neglects the statutory duty to use ordinary diligence, the statute provides for liability for the amount of the claim or the value of property lost because of that neglect. (Texas Statutes)

That distinction is important.

An executor is not automatically liable merely because an investment declines, a debtor turns out to be insolvent, or property suffers an unavoidable loss. Estate administration inevitably involves uncertainty.

The more serious problem is avoidable loss caused by a representative's failure to act.

For example, allegations could arise when an executor knows valuable estate property is being taken but does nothing, allows an insurable building to deteriorate unnecessarily, ignores a readily collectible debt, or otherwise permits estate assets to disappear through neglect.

Whether conduct actually constitutes a breach will depend on the facts and the legal duties applicable to the particular estate.

Estate Property May Sometimes Need to Be Sold

Preserving an asset does not always mean keeping it.

Some property deteriorates, costs substantial money to maintain, or simply makes little economic sense for an estate to retain.

Texas Estates Code Chapter 356 contains procedures governing sales of estate property. Among other things, § 356.051 addresses property that is liable to “perish, waste, or deteriorate in value,” or that would be an expense or disadvantage to the estate if kept. (Texas Statutes)

That creates an important practical point:

Sometimes protecting an estate means selling an asset rather than preserving it indefinitely.

A rapidly depreciating vehicle, expensive equipment that nobody uses, livestock requiring ongoing care, or deteriorating property may present very different considerations from cash or an occupied residence.

The rules governing a particular sale can also differ depending on whether the estate is under dependent or independent administration and on the authority granted by the will and Texas law.

Independent Executors May Have Broader Freedom, But Duties Still Matter

Texas is notable for its extensive use of independent administration. In an independent administration, the representative generally operates with substantially less routine court supervision than a dependent administrator.

That flexibility is useful, but it should not be confused with ownership.

An independent executor is still administering someone else's estate for the benefit of the people legally entitled to it. Reduced court supervision does not transform estate assets into the executor's personal property.

Indeed, less supervision can make careful recordkeeping and prudent asset management even more important.

Beneficiaries Should Pay Attention to Deteriorating or Missing Property

Beneficiaries sometimes assume they have no reason to pay attention until the executor announces that distributions are ready.

That can be a mistake.

If estate property is disappearing, a house is deteriorating, insurance has lapsed, valuable personal property cannot be located, or collectible debts are simply being ignored, waiting until the end of administration may make the problem harder to solve.

Not every disagreement with an executor constitutes misconduct. Executors often must make judgment calls, and beneficiaries may disagree about whether a particular repair, expense, lawsuit, settlement, or sale is worthwhile.

But unexplained losses deserve attention.

Executors Should Document What They Do

Good estate administration is often surprisingly mundane.

An executor may benefit from keeping records of estate property, photographs of valuable items, insurance policies, repairs, receipts, correspondence, account statements, attempts to collect debts, and significant decisions concerning estate assets.

Those records can accomplish two things.

First, they help the executor actually administer the estate.

Second, they create evidence showing why the executor acted as he or she did if a beneficiary later questions the decision.

That can be particularly valuable in an estate involving siblings who already distrust one another.

The Executor Is a Manager, Not the New Owner

One of the easiest misconceptions in probate is to treat appointment as executor as though the court has handed the executor ownership of everything.

It has not.

The executor is temporarily entrusted with significant authority because somebody must collect, protect, manage, and ultimately distribute the deceased person's property.

Texas Estates Code Chapter 351 reflects that basic structure. The representative has substantial powers, but those powers come with corresponding duties.

The practical rule is simple:

Take possession of what belongs to the estate, protect it reasonably, pursue property and debts when doing so makes sense, keep good records, and remember whose property you are administering.

For a careful executor, that approach can prevent many probate disputes before they begin.

At David C. Barsalou, Attorney at Law, PLLC, we help clients navigate business, family, tax, estate planning, and real estate matters ranging from document drafting to litigation with clarity and confidence. If you’d like guidance on your situation, schedule a consultation today. Call us at (713) 397-4678, email barsalou.law@gmail.com, or reach us through our Contact Page. We’re here to help you take the next step.