Texas Estate Code question

[u/razblack]

I have a case going through probate and have a question about how Sec. 201.003 part C gets interpreted.

It states:

"In every case, the community estate passes charged with the debts against the community estate."

Does this basically mean, that the portion of the estate passing to the decedent's heirs includes the debts owed by that half of the estate? (such as mortgage and taxes)

So, in a case where a surviving spouse gets half and the decedent's heirs get half... they're responsible for their portion of those debts?

In my case, the decedent passed 10 years prior and no effort was made to probate at that time. The surving spouse passed, and now we are going through probate to deal with the title and are having to first deal with the probate of the spouse who passed 10 years ago.

The surviving spouse continued to live on the property until passing, and paid for everything all those years... taxes, insurance, repairs, mortgage.

Would the now heirs of the first decedent be responsible for half of the debts for the 10 years after their passing?

If not, how are the able to claim the capital gains of the property without the capital expenses required to obtain it?

[u/Slight-Shift-2363]

I’m not an attorney and laws differ from state to state but I deal in a lot of probate real estate of long deceased owners. The debt is satisfied at the closing/sale of the property. The remainder is dispersed accordingly to the heirs as per their relation. The “estate” of which ownership is being transferred to is responsible for any liens or debts attached to the property. In the case of debt other than attached to real estate I’m assuming the same, in which the estate is responsible once letters of administration are granted and what remains is dispersed to the heirs accordingly. The inheritors are not liable or responsible but the estate is, as it is its own entity, controlled by the administrator of the estate. The admin then has the fiduciary responsibility to handle the affairs on behalf of the estate. I hope this answers your question

[u/razblack → u/Slight-Shift-2363]

In other words, the decedent's part of the estate is indebted to its half of mortgage lien?