Texas Estate Planning Statutes with Commentary

About the Book

Texas Estate Planning Statutes with Commentary (2025-2027 Edition) is a compilation of Texas statutes which are significant to courses related to estate planning such as Wills & Estates, Trusts, Estate Planning, Estate Administration, Elder Law, and Guardianship. I have included commentary entitled Statutes in Context to many sections. These annotations provide background information, explanations, and citations to key cases which should assist you in identifying the significance of the statutes and how they operate.
Most changes made by the Regular, First Called, and Second Called Sessions of the 2025 Texas Legislature are shown in red-lined format to make the changes easy for the reader to locate.

About the Author

Dr. Gerry W. Beyer is the Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at the Texas Tech University School of Law. He received his J.D. from the Ohio State University and his LL.M. and J.S.D. degrees from the University of Illinois. He is a member of the Order of the Coif and an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. In recognition of his expertise and contributions to the legal profession, the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils inducted him into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame in 2015 and he received the Distinguished Probate Attorney Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar of Texas in 2022. The National College of Probate Judges recently honored him with the Judge Isabella Horton Grant Award for his outstanding contributions to the legal profession. Prof. Beyer has received dozens of teaching awards from many law schools throughout his 45-year career, including Texas Tech, Santa Clara University, and St. Mary’s University. Prof. Beyer’s scholarship receives nationwide recognition and he has won Excellence in Writing Awards from the American Bar Association four times. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Reporter of the State Bar of Texas. In 2021, the Uniform Law Commission appointed Prof. Beyer as the Reporter for the Drafting Committee on Electronic Estate Planning Documents.