Can an executor sign an oil and gas lease for an estate's minerals in Texas?
An operator or landman wants to lease minerals that belonged to someone who died. Whether the executor can sign, and what has to happen first, depends on how the estate is being handled. This page follows the Estates Code through each route.
This is general information, not legal advice. It covers Texas law only, and it covers leases, not sales of estate minerals. Whether a particular lease is authorized is for an attorney and the court.
It depends on how the estate is being handled. In a court-supervised administration, the Estates Code lets the probate court authorize the personal representative to make an oil and gas lease. That takes a written application, a hearing on published or posted notice (or, on stated facts, a private-sale order), and an order that names the lessee and carries a copy of the lease. For a lease authorized after public notice, the lease has to be made not later than the 30th day after the order unless the court extends the time on a sworn application showing good cause, and its authorized primary term may not exceed five years, subject to lease terms that extend it (sections 358.057 and 358.059). Unless the title specifically provides otherwise, an independent executor may take without a court order any action that a supervised representative may take with or without one, and section 402.054 names the authority to enter into a lease (sections 402.002 and 402.054). Where the will was admitted as a muniment of title, a person entitled under the will may deal with the property as if record title were vested in that person (section 257.102(b)). Chapters 257 and 358 do not say who signs a lease on that route. Which of these fits an estate depends on the papers the court has entered, and an attorney reads those.
1Who signs, by route
The first question is who is acting for the estate and what paper says so. Under the Estates Code, "personal representative" includes an executor, an independent executor, an administrator, an independent administrator, a temporary administrator, and a successor to any of them (Estates Code § 22.031(a)). An independent executor is the personal representative of an estate under independent administration, and the term includes an independent administrator (§ 22.017). Including an independent executor within the term "personal representative" may not be construed to subject that executor to the control of the courts in probate matters with respect to settlement of estates, except as expressly provided by law (§ 22.031(b)).
The table shows the routes and what the Code says under each. How the papers behind each route are obtained, and what they prove, is on the muniment of title and letters guide.
| Route | Who acts | What the Code says |
|---|---|---|
| Court-supervised administration | The personal representative, "acting solely under court orders" (§ 358.051(a)). | The court may authorize a lease after an application and a hearing, on public notice or by a private-sale order (§ 358.051, § 358.101). |
| Independent administration | The independent executor. | Unless the title specifically provides otherwise, an action a supervised representative may take with or without a court order may be taken by an independent executor without one (§ 402.002). Section 402.054 names "the authority to enter into a lease and to borrow money." |
| Will admitted as a muniment of title | Chapters 257 and 358 do not say who signs a lease on this route. | A person entitled to property under the will may deal with and treat the property as if record title were vested in that person (§ 257.102(b)). Chapter 257 does not mention leases and has no provision appointing a personal representative. |
| Nothing probated yet | Not covered on this page. | Except for foreign wills under Subtitle K, a will is not effective to prove title to, or the right to possession of, property it disposes of until it is admitted to probate (§ 256.001). Letters issue after the executor has qualified (§ 306.004). |
2A court-supervised administration
Chapter 358 of the Estates Code, "Matters Relating to Mineral Properties," is the chapter on point. In it, "property" includes land, minerals in place and an interest of any kind in that property, including a royalty interest, owned by an estate (§ 358.001(4)).
| Step | What happens | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Application | The personal representative files a written application with the county clerk of the county where the probate is pending, asking for authority to lease estate property for mineral exploration and development, with or without a pooling provision or unitization clause. It describes the property (acreage, survey name or number, abstract number or another adequate method, and its location in the county), states the estate's interest if less than the whole, and sets out the reasons the property should be leased. It does not have to name a proposed lessee or set out lease terms. | § 358.052 |
| Hearing date | The clerk calls the filing to the court's attention, and the judge promptly enters a brief order setting the time and place of the hearing. | § 358.053(a) |
| Notice | At least 10 days before the hearing, not counting the date of notice or the hearing date, the personal representative publishes notice in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the proceeding is pending, or, if there is no such newspaper, posts it or has it posted. The notice is dated, directed to all persons interested in the estate, states the date the application was filed, briefly describes the property and any fractional interest sought to be leased, and gives the time and place of the hearing. | § 358.054 |
| Hearing | The judge hears the application and requires proof of the necessity or advisability of leasing the property for mineral development. If the judge is satisfied that the application is in proper form, notice was given as required, the proof is sufficient and the application should be granted, the judge enters an order authorizing one or more leases, with or without pooling or unitization clauses, and with or without cash consideration if the court considers that in the best interest of the estate. | § 358.056(a) and (b) |
| The order | The order must contain the name of the lessee, any actual cash consideration, a finding that the requirements are satisfied, and a finding about bond. A complete copy of each authorized lease must be set out in the order or attached and made part of it, showing the lessee's name, the date of the lease, an adequate description of the property, any delay rental, and all other authorized terms. | § 358.056(c) and (e) |
| The lease | The personal representative may make the lease as shown by the exhibit copy. It must be made not later than the 30th day after the date of the order unless the court, on sworn application showing good cause, extends the time. The judge does not have to enter an order confirming the lease. | § 358.057 |
| Bond | Unless the personal representative is not required to give a general bond, a lease for which a cash consideration is required is not valid unless the order makes findings about the general bond and, if the bond was found insufficient, unless and until the bond has been increased or an additional bond given as the order requires, with the sureties the law requires, and the increased or additional bond has been approved by the judge and filed with the clerk. | § 358.058(a) |
| Term | A lease made in compliance is valid and binding on the estate's interest for the full term the lease provides, subject only to its own terms, even if the primary term runs past the closing of the estate. The authorized primary term may not exceed five years, subject to lease terms that extend it by paying production, by bona fide drilling or reworking operations without a cessation of more than 60 consecutive days before production is restored or obtained, or by a shut-in gas well. | § 358.059 |
Private sale
The court may authorize leases at private sale, without public notice or advertising, if the application sets out facts that in the court's opinion show it would be more advantageous to the estate to lease privately (§ 358.101(a)). The court hears that application after the fifth day and before the 11th day after it is filed. If satisfied that the lease has been or will be made for a fair and sufficient consideration, on fair terms and properly in conformity with law, it enters an order authorizing execution of the lease without advertising, notice or citation. The order must meet the other requirements for validity in Subchapter B, and the lease is not valid until any increased or additional bond the court requires is approved and filed (§ 358.102).
Pooling and unitization
Pooling has its own subchapter. If an existing lease does not adequately provide for pooling or unitization, the court may authorize committing the estate's royalty or mineral interests to an agreement that operates an area as a pool or unit, if it finds that the pool or unit will be operated in a manner that protects correlative rights or prevents physical or economic waste, and that executing the agreement is in the best interest of the estate (§ 358.151(a)). Notice by advertising, citation or otherwise of the filing of that application is not required (§ 358.153).
Division orders and transfer orders
As to any mineral lease or pooling or unitization agreement executed on behalf of an estate or by a former owner of land, minerals or royalty affected by it, the personal representative of an estate being administered may, without further court order and without consideration, execute division orders, transfer orders, instruments of correction, instruments designating depository banks for delay rentals or shut-in gas well royalty, and similar instruments relating to the lease or agreement and the property it covers (§ 358.201). What a division order may contain is covered in the division order guide on mineral.land, a buyer site run by the same company as this one.
3A worked example
The names and dates below are made up. The steps and time limits are the ones in the table above.
Estate of Dale Fenwick
Dale Fenwick died in January 2026 owning 40 net mineral acres in an unleased Karnes County tract. A court-supervised administration is open and the executor has qualified. Sample Oil Co. has offered a lease.
| Date | Event | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Mon., May 4, 2026 | The executor files the lease application with the county clerk. It describes the tract and the estate's interest and gives the reasons to lease. It does not need to name Sample Oil Co. or set out lease terms. | § 358.052 |
| Tue., May 5 | The judge enters a brief order setting the hearing for Tuesday, May 19. | § 358.053(a) |
| Fri., May 8 | Notice is published in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Counting the days between the date of notice and the hearing date, and leaving out both, the 10 days run from May 9 through May 18. | § 358.054(a) |
| Tue., May 19 | The hearing. The judge requires proof that leasing is necessary or advisable. If satisfied, the judge enters an order that names Sample Oil Co., states any cash consideration, makes the finding about bond and attaches the lease as an exhibit. | § 358.056 |
| Thu., June 18 | If the order is entered at the May 19 hearing, this is the 30th day after it. The lease has to be made not later than that day unless the court extends the time on a sworn application showing good cause. The lease's authorized primary term may not exceed five years, subject to lease terms that extend it beyond the primary term. | § 358.057(b), § 358.059(b) |
4An independent administration
Once an independent administration has been created, the order appointing the independent executor has been entered, and the inventory, appraisement and list of claims has been filed and approved by the court (or an affidavit in lieu of it has been filed), the Code says that as long as the estate is represented by an independent executor, "further action of any nature may not be had in the probate court except where this title specifically and explicitly provides for some action in the court" (§ 402.001).
Unless the title specifically provides otherwise, any action a personal representative subject to court supervision may take, with or without a court order, may be taken by an independent executor without a court order (§ 402.002). The subchapter on the power of sale adds that it does not limit an independent executor's authority to take any other action without court supervision or approval with respect to estate assets that may take place in a supervised administration, for purposes and within the scope otherwise authorized by the title, "including the authority to enter into a lease and to borrow money" (§ 402.054). In that subchapter, "independent executor" does not include an independent administrator (§ 402.051).
Whether an estate is under independent administration turns on the will and on Chapter 401. A testator can provide for it (§ 401.001(a)) or provide that no independent administration may be allowed (§ 401.001(b)). If the will names an executor and does not provide for independent administration, all of the distributees may agree to it and designate the named executor to serve as independent executor, unless the will provides that no independent administration may be allowed, and the court enters the order granting it unless the court finds it would not be in the best interest of the estate (§ 401.002(a)).
5A muniment of title, or no probate yet
The authority to lease in Subchapter B of Chapter 358 speaks of a personal representative "appointed and qualified" and "acting solely under court orders" (§ 358.051(a)). Chapter 257, on probate of a will as a muniment of title, has no provision appointing a personal representative. What it says instead is that a person entitled to property under a will admitted as a muniment "is entitled to deal with and treat the property in the same manner as if the record of title to the property was vested in the person's name" (§ 257.102(b)). Chapter 257 does not mention leases, and Chapter 358 does not mention muniments of title, so neither chapter says who signs an oil and gas lease on this route. Whether that language reaches a lease is for an attorney.
A muniment order does not close the door on a later administration. Under § 257.151, the order does not preclude a personal representative being appointed and an administration opened later, in the two situations that section lists. The muniment route, what the order authorizes payors to do, and its conditions are in the muniment section of the other guide.
Except for foreign wills under Subtitle K, a will is not effective to prove title to, or the right to possession of, the property it disposes of until it is admitted to probate (§ 256.001). If a person dies leaving a lawful will, what the will devises vests immediately in the devisees, subject to payment of the decedent's debts, except as exempted by law, and any court-ordered child support that is delinquent on the date of death (§ 101.001(a)(1), § 101.051(a)). This page does not cover who can lease in that gap. That is a question for an attorney.
6Royalties and the estate's money
In an administration under a court's direction, a distribution of income has its own rule. On the application of the executor or administrator or of any interested party, after notice by posting, the court may order the executor or administrator to pay or credit to those the court finds will own the estate assets when the administration is completed, in the same proportions, the part of the annual net income received by or accruing to the estate that can conveniently be paid without prejudice to the rights of creditors, legatees or other interested parties. The court may do that if evidence at a hearing shows that the reasonable market value of the estate assets on hand, excluding the annual income, is at least twice the total of all unpaid debts, administration expenses and legacies, and no estate creditor or legatee has appeared and objected (§ 351.302(a)). Nothing in that subchapter authorizes the court to order any part of the principal paid over to the owners, except as the title otherwise provides (§ 351.302(b)).
For that subchapter, bonuses, rentals and royalties received for or from an oil, gas or other mineral lease are treated as income rather than principal (§ 351.303). The subchapter applies only to an estate being administered under the direction, control and orders of a court (§ 351.301).
Unpaid royalties that a payor reported to the Comptroller are a separate track, with their own list of who may claim. That is in the Comptroller section of the other guide.
Sources
Last checked . Each page below was opened that day. The Texas statutes site said its statutes were current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025. Laws change, so check the current text before relying on any of it.
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 22§§ 22.017, 22.031: independent executor; personal representativehttps://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.22.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 101§§ 101.001, 101.051: passage of the estate at death; liability for debtshttps://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.101.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 256§ 256.001: will not effective until probatedhttps://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.256.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 257§§ 257.102, 257.151: authority under a muniment order; later administration (chapter read in full)https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.257.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 306§§ 306.004, 306.007: issuance and effect of lettershttps://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.306.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 351§§ 351.001, 351.301 to 351.303: common law principles; payment of income of certain estates during administration; royalties treated as incomehttps://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.351.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 356Cited only to say that sales of estate property run on separate rules. This page does not describe them.https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.356.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 358§§ 358.001 to 358.254: matters relating to mineral properties (read in full)https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.358.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 401§§ 401.001, 401.002: creation of an independent administrationhttps://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.401.htmOpened September 29, 2026
- Texas Estates Code, chapter 402§§ 402.001, 402.002, 402.051, 402.054: scope of an independent executor's powers (also § 402.052, cited only to say sales run on separate rules)https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ES/htm/ES.402.htmOpened September 29, 2026
If you want to go further
If the estate holds minerals, the estate review request on the home page asks for the county and state, where things stand (nothing filed, will probated or letters issued in Texas, and so on) and what you have in hand. There is no charge to send it, and any work starts only under a written engagement letter. The decimal worksheet figures each beneficiary's decimal (equal shares only) to check against a stub. For how each probate route is obtained and what it proves, see the muniment of title and letters guide.