A probate court may order that a parent of a child under 18 cannot inherit from or through the child if the court finds clear and convincing evidence of one of the listed grounds.
Sec. 201.062. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS. (a) A probate court may enter an order declaring that the parent of a child under 18 years of age may not inherit from or through the child under the laws of descent and distribution if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has: (1) voluntarily abandoned and failed to support the child in accordance with the parent's obligation or ability for at least three years before the date of the child's death, and did not resume support for the child before that date; (2) voluntarily and with knowledge of the pregnancy: (A) abandoned the child's mother beginning at a time during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the birth; (B) failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the mother during the period of abandonment before the child's birth; and (C) remained apart from and failed to support the child since birth; or (3) been convicted or has been placed on community supervision, including deferred adjudication community supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal Code or adjudicated under Title 3, Family Code, for conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would constitute a violation of one of the following sections of the Penal Code: (A) Section 19.02 (murder); (B) Section 19.03 (capital murder); (C) Section 19.04 (manslaughter); (D) Section 21.11 (indecency with a child); (E) Section 22.01 (assault); (F) Section 22.011 (sexual assault); (G) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault); (H) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault); (I) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual); (J) Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual); (K) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct); (L) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a child); or (M) Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of child pornography). (b) On a determination under Subsection (a) that the parent of a child may not inherit from or through the child, the parent shall be treated as if the parent predeceased the child for purposes of: (1) inheritance under the laws of descent and distribution; and (2) any other cause of action based on parentage. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 2502), Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2014. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 830 (H.B. 2187), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2023. SUBCHAPTER C. DISTRIBUTION TO HEIRS