Why would anyone ever probate a will in Texas as a muniment of title?

A muniment of title proceeding in Texas probate is an application to present a will of the decedent to the Probate Court and have it admitted as valid for the purpose of transferring title to property.  There is no administration proceeding associated with the probate of a muniment of title and there can be no unpaid debts in the estate other than mortgages.  Once the will is admitted, the order and the will are filed in the county clerks records to provide title to real property. 

A friend of mine called me the other day and had just had emergency surgery.  He asked me to cover his hearing on a muniment of title application in Probate Court.  Since I never seek muniment of title when probating a will based upon my experience, I asked him why he filed an application to have a will admitted to probate as a muniment of title.  He claimed it was the best procedure since the estate needed no administration.  Well, it's true that many courts in Texas hold that a muniment of title proceeding is a quick and cost-effective means to probate a will and provide continuity to the chain of title of real property where no administration is necessary and no unpaid debts of the estate exist.  However, in my experience it has never been quicker or less costly than an application to probate a will and seek a grant of letters testamentary.  It just never works out that way.  In addition, too many times after I had sought a muniment of title proceeding, unanticipated assets have appeared that needed an administration in order to transfer from the decedant.  But, the court's jurisdiction terminates once the muniment of title has become final which creates more costs and more proceedings when those unanticipated assets appear.

In truth, I suspect my friend made that application because the will was older than four years.  It has been said that courts in Texas are often liberal in allowing wills to be offered as a muniment of title after the statute of limitations has expired upon a showing of an excuse by the applicant for failing to timely probate the will.  In experience, I have not found courts that liberal, and in this case, much more than four years had passed since the death of the decedant.  Since the application was not timely, the court had to determine the heirs in order to have them waive their claims and allow for the probate of the will as a muniment of title.  Since the court had to determine the heirs anyway in such an untimely case, I would have simply applied for a determination of heirship at the onset to avoid unnecessary efforts.  In addition, in those untimely cases where an administration is needed, I also seek the appointment of a receiver to transfer property.

In Texas, Sections 89 and 89A-C of the Texas Probate Code provide how to probate a will as a muniment of title.  Useful case law includes In re Estate of Kurtz, 54 S.W.3d 353, 355 (Tex. App.--Waco 2001, no pet.) and Chovanec v. Chovanec, 881 S.W.2d 135, 137 (Tex. App.--Houston [1st Dist.] 1994, no writ).