An ancillary estate refers to the portion of a deceased person’s assets that are located in a jurisdiction outside of their primary residence. When a person passes away owning property in more than one state or country, the estate must undergo two separate probate processes: one in the state where the deceased resided (the primary estate) and another in the state where the ancillary property is located.
The ancillary estate process is necessary to handle the distribution of assets that are outside the primary jurisdiction. For example, if an individual lived in Texas but owned a vacation home in Florida, the ancillary estate would encompass the Florida property. The executor or administrator of the estate must file for probate in Florida to legally transfer ownership of the property according to the deceased’s will or state laws if there is no will.
In Texas, the process for handling an ancillary estate is governed by the Texas Probate Code, which outlines the necessary procedures and requirements for filing an ancillary probate application. The ancillary probate can be more straightforward than the primary probate but still requires adherence to legal protocols specific to the jurisdiction where the property is situated.
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