Paperwork in Texas.

Give the buyer the state transfer documents

Supply the properly signed title with sale date and odometer reading, and signed Form 130-U with the sale price. Include lien releases or power-of-attorney evidence where required. The buyer uses these at the county tax office.

Document scope: Vehicle Bill of Sale, Motorcycle Bill of Sale, RV & Camper Bill of Sale

File the vehicle transfer notification

A seller filing the notification within 30 days receives the described protection against the purchaser’s parking tickets and toll violations. Keep buyer contact details, sale date, VIN, and the submission confirmation.

Document scope: Vehicle Bill of Sale, Motorcycle Bill of Sale, RV & Camper Bill of Sale

Check title history and tax evidence

Texas recommends reviewing the title and completing a private transfer together at the county tax office to discover title or salvage issues. A written sale price is evidence, not a guarantee of the county’s tax assessment.

Document scope: Vehicle Bill of Sale, Motorcycle Bill of Sale, RV & Camper Bill of Sale

Treat qualifying gifts separately

Texas specifies Form 14-317 for a qualifying motor-vehicle gift in addition to the title and Form 130-U, with both parties’ signatures and in-person submission by donor or recipient. Confirm eligibility before selecting gift treatment.

Document scope: Vehicle Bill of Sale, Motorcycle Bill of Sale, RV & Camper Bill of Sale

Deposit refund: retain the written forwarding address

Chapter 92 generally requires return within 30 days after surrender, but the landlord’s duty to return the deposit or supply deductions is conditioned on receiving the tenant’s written forwarding address. Failing to give the address does not itself forfeit the refund. Keep surrender evidence, the address notice, and an itemized condition comparison.

Late fees need written terms and the statutory conditions

Section 92.019 requires a written-lease basis and reasonable late fees, and rent must remain unpaid for two full days after its original due date. Record the due date and total proposed initial and daily charges; check the statute’s property-size-based reasonableness provisions instead of using an arbitrary percentage.

Document scope: Residential Lease Agreement, Month-to-Month Lease Agreement, Room Rental Agreement, Late Rent Reminder

Monthly termination is separate from a possession demand

Section 91.001 governs periodic-tenancy termination, including the relationship between delivery and the effective date and a written-agreement exception. Check the actual lease and rent-paying period. A tenant’s notice-to-vacate builder documents move-out intentions; it does not create a landlord’s pre-suit eviction notice.

2026 landlord notices require current wording and delivery review

Chapter 24 changed effective January 1, 2026. It requires a pay-rent-or-vacate notice for a defined nonpayment situation involving a tenant who was not previously late or delinquent before the notice month. Check §24.005’s current grounds, period, and delivery methods, including the conditional electronic option. Do not reuse a pre-2026 service checklist without review.

Document scope: Notice to Quit — Draft Worksheet

Flood information and safety arrangements need review

Chapter 92 contains flood-notice, security-device, smoke-alarm, and repair provisions. Check the applicable disclosures and property requirements rather than treating them as optional house rules. Keep repair notices and responses separately from a standard rent ledger.

Durable financial authority

Chapter 751 addresses writing, adult principal signature, durability wording, and acknowledgment. Chapter 752 supplies the statutory form. Complete the official notices, choices, and grants in the final instrument.

Document scope: Durable Financial Power of Attorney Planning Draft

Medical POA is separate

Health and Safety Code 166.154 describes execution with two qualifying witnesses or acknowledgment before a notary. Section 166.164 supplies the medical POA form. Financial powers do not grant medical authority.

Document scope: Health Care Power of Attorney Planning Draft

Living-will signing and physician notice

Section 166.032 allows a competent adult to execute a directive with two qualifying witnesses who sign, or with notarial acknowledgment instead. Section 166.003 provides witness exclusions and requires at least one independent qualifying witness. Notify the attending physician so the directive enters the medical record. Section 166.033 supplies suggested directive text; the medical POA is a separate document.

Document scope: Living Will & Advance Care Preferences Draft

Current agency living-will form

Texas HHS provides a Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates, edition May 2024. Discuss the separate terminal and irreversible-condition choices with the clinician, reconcile any medical agent appointment, and use the current publisher instructions for the final directive. The preparation worksheet is not the completed agency form or an out-of-hospital DNR order.

Document scope: Living Will & Advance Care Preferences Draft

Attested and handwritten wills

Section 251.051 generally requires two credible subscribing witnesses aged at least 14 for an attested will, with signature and presence requirements. Section 251.052 treats wholly handwritten wills separately.

Document scope: Last Will & Testament Planning Draft, Codicil to Will Review Draft

Small-estate procedure eligibility

Chapter 205 has eligibility, waiting-period, estate-value, affidavit, and approval requirements. Verify all of them with the probate court; an estate worksheet is not the required sworn filing.

Document scope: Small Estate Affidavit Preparation Worksheet

Heirship evidence is not a deed

Chapter 203 addresses nonjudicial heirship evidence and evidentiary effect. Do not assume a recorded affidavit transfers title or eliminates a contested probate issue.

Document scope: Texas Affidavit of Heirship Preparation Draft

Lady Bird and TOD distinctions

The State Law Library explains that Lady Bird deeds are governed by common law while TOD deeds use Chapter 114. There is no official Lady Bird deed form; use a qualified preparer and title review.

Document scope: Quitclaim Deed Preparation Worksheet, Warranty Deed Preparation Worksheet, Lady Bird Deed Planning Worksheet