Legislative Report

Miguez’s HB75 seeks to contain costs of small estate successions

by Mike Stagg

Rep. Blake Miguez of Erath wants to lower the cost of accessing death certificates for those involved in estate succession valued at under $75,000.

Rep. Blake Miguez is trying to ensure that the costs of successions on small estates remain affordable with his HB75. The bill is up for consideration in the House Health & Welfare Committee today.

Rep. Blake Miquez
Photo by Robin May

“The law was changed a few years ago to enable family members involved in succession resolutions of estates valued at under $75,000 could get a death certificate from Vital Records simply by supplying an affadavit,” Miguez explains in a Wednesday morning phone interview.

“What my bill would do is ensure that the affadavit process is still available to family members even after some time has elapsed since the death of their family member,” he adds. Miguez says the costs involved with going through a formal court proceeding to authorize the release of death certificates can “eat up much of the value of small estates.”
“Don’t be fooled by the $75,000 figure,” Miguez says. “What this bill aims to do is help those involved in successions where there might only be a few thousand dollars at stake. But, in today’s economy, a few thousand dollars can be a game changer for some people.”

The bill, he notes, would help people avoid attorney fees and still obtain death certificates in an expedited manner.