Family disputes over inherited property often begin with incomplete information. Someone dies intestate. A surviving relative prepares an affidavit of heirship listing who inherited the property. That affidavit gets filed in the real property records. Years pass. The property changes hands. Then another heir surfaces—someone who was left off the original affidavit—and claims an ownership interest that conflicts with the current owner’s deed.
This scenario creates tension between protecting property purchasers who rely on recorded documents and protecting the inheritance rights of heirs who were wrongly excluded from heirship determinations. Texas law attempts to balance these competing interests through specific statutes that define when purchasers can rely on affidavits of heirship. However, these protections only apply when certain conditions are met. Missing even one requirement can leave a purchaser holding property subject to claims by omitted heirs.
Camp Rusk Foundation, Inc. v. Williams, No. 06-23-00073-CV, 2024 WL 1080461 (Tex. App.—Texarkana Mar. 13, 2024, no pet.) (mem. op.), provides an opportunity to examine when purchasers can rely on affidavits of heirship that omit legitimate heirs.
Facts & Procedural History
Christine died on December 27, 2014, leaving a will that devised a 108-acre tract of land in Delta County to her three children: Richard, Linda, and William. The probate court admitted the will to probate in April of 2015. Under the will’s terms, Christine designated Linda to determine how and when the real and personal property would be divided among the children.
William, one of the children, died intestate in June of 2016. He left Amy as his sole heir. Amy was his daughter. Richard, another one of the children, died intestate in August of 2016, leaving no spouse or children.
In February of 2020, Linda, the then only surviving child, executed two warranty deeds conveying a 93-acre tract and a 2-acre tract (together the Property) to Jon and Barbara Gammon. Both tracts were part of the original 108 acres that Christine had devised to her three children. Linda reserved a life estate for herself in these conveyances.
On the same date, the Gammons conveyed both tracts to Camp Rusk Foundation. The Foundation took title believing it owned the Property in fee simple.
However, Amy claimed an ownership interest in the Property based on her inheritance from William. When Amy was born in 1980, her birth certificate identified William as her father and Janice Kay Watts as her mother’s maiden name. Janice Kay Stewart signed the birth certificate as informant. A divorce decree from 1982, showed William and Janice Kay Stewart as the parties with Amy listed as the only child of the marriage.
Linda had filed an affidavit of heirship for Richard in which she asserted that she was his only heir-at-law. Linda did not identify Amy as Richard’s heir. Linda also apparently filed a verified application to determine heirship in William’s estate. In that application, Linda asserted that she was William’s only heir-at-law and did not identify Amy as his child and heir.
The Foundation refused to recognize Amy’s interest in the Property. Amy filed declaratory judgment and trespass-to-try-title actions against the Foundation. She sought a determination that she owned an undivided one-half interest in the Property.
Amy filed a motion for summary judgment on both claims. While the motion was pending, a judgment declaring heirship was entered in William’s estate. That judgment determined Amy was the only child of William and his sole heir.
After a hearing, the trial court entered final summary judgment that Amy was “the fee simple owner in title to an undivided one-half interest” in the Property. The trial court’s judgment did not state the grounds for its ruling. The Foundation appealed.
How Property Passes When Someone Dies Intestate
Understanding this dispute requires examining how property passes when someone dies without a valid will. The Texas Estates Code establishes detailed rules for intestate succession. These rules determine which relatives inherit property and in what proportions.
When someone dies intestate, their property passes to their heirs as determined by statute. The identity of these heirs depends on what family members survived the decedent. A surviving spouse receives certain shares. Children receive shares. If no spouse or children survive, more distant relatives may inherit.
The distribution also depends on whether property is community property or separate property. Community property passes differently than separate property when someone dies intestate. However, both types of property pass according to statutory formulas rather than according to the decedent’s unstated wishes.
Determining who inherited property from an intestate decedent often requires proving family relationships. Someone claiming to be an heir must establish their relationship to the decedent. A child must prove they are the decedent’s child. A sibling must prove they shared at least one parent with the decedent.
Texas law provides several methods for establishing heirship. Formal probate proceedings can include heirship determinations. A court may enter a judgment declaring who the decedent’s heirs are. This judgment binds parties to the proceeding and creates a public record of heirship.
Alternatively, interested parties may file affidavits of heirship. These sworn statements identify the decedent’s heirs and their relationship to the decedent. Recording these affidavits in the real property records provides notice to potential purchasers about who inherited the property.
However, affidavits of heirship carry less weight than court judgments. They represent only the affiant’s sworn statement about family relationships. They do not bind parties who were not involved in preparing them. Most significantly, they do not cut off the inheritance rights of heirs who were wrongly omitted from the affidavit.
When Incomplete Affidavits of Heirship Fail to Protect Purchasers
The Foundation believed it acquired good title to the Property based on Linda’s representations and affidavits. However, the statutory protections for purchasers who rely on affidavits of heirship apply only in narrow circumstances.
Section 201.053(a) of the Texas Estates Code attempts to balance two competing interests: protecting heirs’ inheritance rights and protecting purchasers who reasonably rely on recorded documents. The statute provides limited protection when someone purchases property from a decedent’s heirs. The purchaser must pay valuable consideration. The purchaser must act in good faith. The purchaser must rely on declarations in an affidavit of heirship. Most significantly, the affidavit must not include a child who was a presumed child of the decedent at the time of sale.
These requirements work together to define who qualifies for protection. The statute does not protect purchasers who simply acted in general good faith. It specifically requires actual reliance on declarations in an affidavit of heirship. Simply having the affidavit somewhere in the chain of title does not suffice. The purchaser must have reviewed the affidavit’s declarations and made the purchase decision based on those declarations.
Jon Gammon submitted an affidavit attesting that he and his wife purchased the Property from Linda for valuable consideration in good faith. However, Jon never stated that he relied on Linda’s affidavit of heirship. He did not mention reviewing the affidavit. He did not reference relying on the affidavit’s declarations. This omission proved fatal to the Foundation’s defense. Without evidence of actual reliance on the affidavit, the Gammons fell outside the statute’s protections.
Even if the Gammons had relied on Linda’s affidavit, they still would not have acquired good title free from Amy’s claim. Amy’s birth certificate showed William as her father with the certificate signed by Janice Kay Stewart as informant. The divorce decree showed William and Janice Kay Stewart were married and identified Amy as their only child. These documents established that Amy was William’s presumed child under Texas Family Code Section 160.204(a).
This status as a presumed child becomes determinative. Section 201.053(a) only protects purchasers when the omitted child was not a presumed child at the time of sale. If the omitted heir qualifies as a presumed child under the Family Code definitions, the purchaser takes subject to that child’s claim regardless of good faith or reliance on the affidavit. This limitation protects children who have established legal relationships with their parents from being disinherited through incomplete affidavits.
Because Amy was a presumed child, the statute provided no protection to the Gammons or to the Foundation as their successor. They took the Property subject to Amy’s inheritance rights as William’s heir. Linda’s affidavit listing herself as the only heir could not cut off Amy’s claim. The incomplete affidavit created no shield against Amy’s superior title.
The Takeaway
This case shows how incomplete affidavits of heirship can leave property purchasers vulnerable to claims by omitted heirs. Section 201.053(a) of the Texas Estates Code offers only narrow protection to purchasers. Buyers must prove they actually relied on specific declarations in the affidavit rather than simply acting in general good faith or relying on a seller’s oral representations. More importantly, the statute provides zero protection when the omitted heir qualifies as a presumed child under the Texas Family Code—meaning purchasers automatically take subject to that child’s superior claim regardless of how carefully they conducted their due diligence. Property buyers who rely on affidavits of heirship face substantial risk because these documents represent only one person’s sworn statement about family relationships and carry no power to cut off the rights of heirs who were wrongly excluded.
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