How to Fill Out the Texas Community Property Survivorship Agreement Form

A Texas community property survivorship agreement form is a written contract in which both spouses agree that some or all of their community property will pass directly to whichever of them lives longer, bypassing probate. To complete one correctly, you identify both spouses, describe each asset covered, include one of the statutory phrases that creates the survivorship right, and have both spouses sign. If real estate is involved, you also notarize the document and record it with the county clerk. The agreement’s authority comes from Article 16, Section 15 of the Texas Constitution, and its rules live in Chapter 112 of the Texas Estates Code.¹

Decide What Property the Agreement Will Cover

Only community property can go into the agreement. That means assets acquired during the marriage through either spouse’s earnings, effort, or investment returns. Section 112.051 of the Estates Code lets you include community property you already own and community property you expect to acquire later, which is helpful if you would rather not redraft every time you open a new account or buy another vehicle.²

Separate property cannot be included. Anything either spouse owned before the marriage, or received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance, stays separate unless it is first converted to community property through its own written, signed agreement identifying the specific asset and stating the conversion.³ Retitling an asset into both names does not, by itself, change its legal character.

Two categories deserve a warning before you list them on the form. First, employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s and pensions are governed by federal ERISA rules that override state community property law. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Boggs v. Boggs that ERISA preempts state-law transfers of undistributed pension benefits.⁴ The plan’s beneficiary designation controls those accounts, not your survivorship agreement. IRAs generally are not subject to ERISA, so state rules still apply, but coordinate the beneficiary form with the agreement so nothing conflicts. Second, a joint bank or brokerage account does not automatically carry a right of survivorship in Texas. Section 112.052 specifically says that titling an account jointly, or as “JT TEN,” is not enough on its own.⁵ If you want the account to pass automatically, list it on the agreement with the required language.

Fill In the Identifying Information

Use both spouses’ full legal names as they appear on government-issued identification and on the title records for any property being covered. Mismatched names are one of the easier ways to create a title problem years later.

Then describe each asset with enough detail that no one could confuse it with something else:

Real estate: the full legal description from the most recent deed, meaning the lot, block, and subdivision name, or the metes-and-bounds survey language on file at the county. A street address alone is not legally sufficient.
Vehicles: the VIN, along with year, make, and model.
Financial accounts: the institution name and the account number.

If you want the agreement to reach community property you acquire after signing, add a clause saying so. If you want it limited to the specific listed assets, say that instead. Silence on this point invites disputes.

Use One of the Four Statutory Phrases

The single most important part of the form is the survivorship language. Section 112.052 lists four phrases that are automatically sufficient:

“with right of survivorship”
“will become the property of the survivor”
“will vest in and belong to the surviving spouse”
“shall pass to the surviving spouse”

The statute also says an agreement that otherwise meets Chapter 112’s requirements is effective even if none of those exact phrases appear.⁵ There is still no good reason to invent your own wording. Pick one of the four phrases and use it. The small convenience of custom language is not worth handing a challenger an argument.

Sign It, and Get It Notarized if Real Estate Is Involved

Section 112.052 has two firm requirements: the agreement must be in writing, and both spouses must sign it.⁵ One signature is not enough. The statute does not require notarization or witnesses for the agreement itself to be legally valid. The Texas Real Estate Research Center has called the statute “conspicuously absent” on any notarization requirement.⁶

Practice diverges from theory the moment real estate enters the picture. If the agreement covers real property and you want it recorded in the county deed records, which you almost always should, the Texas Property Code requires the instrument to be acknowledged before a notary or sworn to before witnesses.⁷ A county clerk will refuse an unacknowledged document. So while notarization is technically optional for validity, it is a practical necessity for anything involving land or a home. Both spouses should appear before a notary together, present photo identification, and sign in the notary’s presence. Notary fees for a standard acknowledgment are typically under $20.

Record the Agreement With the County Clerk

For real property, file the notarized agreement with the county clerk in the county where the property sits. If the agreement lists parcels in more than one county, record a copy in each. Recording is not required by Chapter 112 for the agreement to take effect, but skipping it creates problems that surface only later: a title company or buyer searching the deed records will find nothing supporting the survivorship right, and the surviving spouse may face delays when trying to sell or refinance.

Texas counties currently charge $25 to record the first page and $4 for each additional page. Anyone presenting the document in person must show a photo ID.⁷ After filing, the clerk scans the document into the official records and returns the original with a stamp showing volume, page number, and filing date. Keep that stamped original with your important papers.

For community property that is not real estate, such as vehicles or financial accounts, there is no deed record to file the agreement in. The signed document itself, kept safely, is the operative instrument. Consider giving a copy to each financial institution that holds a listed account so the retitling can move quickly when the time comes.

Changing or Revoking the Agreement

Section 112.054 of the Estates Code gives three ways to revoke:

Follow the agreement’s own revocation method, if it includes one.
If the agreement is silent on revocation, either spouse can revoke by signing a written instrument and delivering it to the other spouse. Both spouses signing a joint revocation also works.⁸
Disposing of a covered asset revokes the agreement as to that asset, provided the disposition is not inconsistent with the agreement’s terms.⁸

A written revocation that touches real property should be notarized and recorded in the same county where the original was filed, so the deed records match reality. Otherwise the original agreement will still turn up in a title search.

Divorce is a separate matter. When community property is divided and reclassified as each spouse’s separate property in the final decree, the survivorship agreement loses the subject matter it was built on. Recording a formal revocation and cleaning up the deed records afterward is still the safer practice, because relying on the decree alone can leave a title dispute waiting years down the line.

1
Justia. Texas Constitution Article 16 Section 15
2
State of Texas. Texas Estates Code 112.051 – Agreement for Right of Survivorship in Community Property
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 4.203 – Formalities of Agreement
4
Justia. Boggs v. Boggs, 520 U.S. 833 (1997)
5
State of Texas. Texas Estates Code 112.052 – Form of Agreement
6
Texas Real Estate Research Center. Texas Community Property Survivorship Agreement
7
State of Texas. Texas Property Code 12.001 – Instruments Concerning Property
8
State of Texas. Texas Estates Code EST 112.054