09/09/2026
Labor Day weekend is when Austin County families finally get back to the place. By Tuesday, some of those conversations have a harder edge: someone has died, and there is no will.
Families often wait because they think they can handle this themselves, because they worry about cost, or because they fear a court will make family conflict worse. Those are honest reasons. They are not a plan for the house.
The house is the asset families talk about first, and the one they misunderstand. Title to a homestead follows the same default rules as other land. Occupancy is a different right. Occupancy is not sole title.
If the house was community property in a blended family, the surviving spouse often still owns half. The deceased spouse’s children own the deceased spouse’s half. The surviving spouse may still occupy the whole house. The children who hold title to half cannot treat occupancy as if it were theirs to divide.
If the house was the deceased spouse’s separate land, the surviving spouse has a life estate in one-third of the land, and the children take the rest of the ownership in that land. Homestead occupancy of the entire home is a constitutional overlay on whoever holds that title. It is not the same one-third life estate.
Living there does not make one person the sole owner. Naming the heirs is not picking a fight. It is how the family stops guessing.
Which bucket a particular house falls into is a fact question. This is general information about Texas default rules, not a review of your estate.
I put the fuller explainer here for families around Bellville, Sealy, Wallis, Industry, New Ulm, and Cat Spring: https://www.danabakerlaw.com/blogs/if-there-is-no-will-who-inherits-and-what-should-austin-county-families-do-next
Questions? Call (979) 356-2295 or schedule a consultation.
Law Office of Dana Baker, P.C.
504 East Strauss Street, Bellville, TX
