Bexar County, TX
All 112 county-scoped rules
Every published instrument scoped to Bexar County, newest effective date first. 2 region-wide and 1,248 statewide instruments also apply here — search all three layers together. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Published rules, newest effective date first
Showing 101–112 of 112 · page 3 of 3
Administrative Order 2016-03 on File Administration and File Management — base-case and ancillary-case filing in probate and guardianship proceedings (Bexar County Probate Courts; effective May 1, 2016)
The clerk and all litigants must follow the Presiding Statutory Probate Judge's uniform file-management order (AO 2016-01 amending AO 2006-14): core matters concerning administration of the estate — appointment of guardian, probate, heirship, contests, objections to administration acts, pre-probate will construction, claims, removal of representatives, § 34.001/§ 1022.007 transfer motions, § 405.003 release of an independent executor — are filed in the base case, while contested matters bearing no direct relationship to administration — post-probate will and testamentary-trust construction, trustee removal, inter vivos trust actions, all applications for court-created trusts, foreclosure of preferred debt and lien, trial of title or right to property, interpleader, divorce and custody, personal-injury and rejected-claim suits, and bills of review — take an ancillary sub-docket designation or a new linked cause number; any base-case matter may be severed as ancillary at the court's discretion.
Amended Order Regarding Occupational and Interlock Restricted Licenses (Bexar County Courts at Law; 2016 SO 02, February 29, 2016)
Procedures for ODL and IRL petitions after ALR suspensions and DWI-conviction suspensions: filed in County Court Civil Filing and granted case by case; no handwritten petitions; no commercial-vehicle licenses (Transp. Code § 521.242); counsel must confirm eligibility; applications after § 49.04–49.08 convictions seeking issuance without time restrictions or an essential-need showing require ignition interlock for the suspension period; the original order must be presented to the judge of the county court at law of conviction or pending case and may need a hearing in the Presiding Civil County Courts; proof of SR-22 insurance, a certified driving record and proof of an installed interlock where applicable; no ODL or IRL on DWI-3d or greater; the granting court may order supervision with alcohol or drug testing and a monthly administrative fee (Transp. Code §§ 521.2461, 521.2462; Gov't Code § 76.015), modifiable for good cause.
Order to County Magistrates Regarding Screening for Military Status and Assignment of Misdemeanor-Involved Veterans to County Court at Law No. 6 (2015 SO 09; November 12, 2015)
County Court at Law No. 6 being the Veterans Treatment Court under Government Code §§ 124.001–124.003, the County Magistrate on duty must screen every defendant at arraignment for VTC eligibility by asking whether the defendant has ever served in the United States military, Reserves, National Guard or State Guard; every misdemeanor defendant identified at Central Magistration as a veteran or current service member is assigned to County Court at Law No. 6, except veterans with a pending felony or family violence case.
Bexar County Local Rules of the County Courts concerning the Electronic Filing of Court Documents in Civil Cases (Parts 1–7)
The county courts' TRCP 3a e-filing rules: definitions; scope (all non-juvenile civil cases in the county courts, including appeals and matters before associate judges; filings with the county clerk only); documents that may not be e-filed (sealed citations and writs, bonds, wills and codicils, subpoenas and their proofs of service, in camera and Rule 76a sealed documents, restricted-access documents) and scanned-image filing of sworn or opposing-party-signed documents; TexFile mechanics through an EFSP, convenience fees, digital signatures deemed signatures (the first name in the signature block is attorney in charge), filing time (deemed filed on transmission to the EFSP, ten-day tardy receipt allowed, clerk accepts or rejects by the next business day, Sunday suit-commencing filings deemed filed Monday), deadlines unaltered, one document per transmission, e-mail address required, 8½ x 11 formatting; electronic service by agreement or order, complete on transmission, after-5:00 p.m. service dated the next business day, three days added to response periods, certification of service contents; electronic orders and public viewing; disputes decided by the assigned court and liberal construction. Rule 1.3 notes e-filing became mandatory for attorneys on January 1, 2014 under Misc. Docket No. 13-9092.
225th District Court — Docket Control Order for Contested Civil Cases, Jury (form; contested cases filed on or after July 1, 2026)
The court-published 225th District Court — Docket Control Order for Contested Civil Cases, Jury (form; contested cases filed on or after July 1, 2026), quoted whole from the document as posted (1 page(s)).
225th District Court — Docket Control Order for Contested Civil Cases, Non-Jury (form; contested cases filed on or after July 1, 2026)
The court-published 225th District Court — Docket Control Order for Contested Civil Cases, Non-Jury (form; contested cases filed on or after July 1, 2026), quoted whole from the document as posted (1 page(s)).
225th District Court — Docket Control Order for Contested Family Cases (form; contested cases filed on or after July 1, 2026)
The court-published 225th District Court — Docket Control Order for Contested Family Cases (form; contested cases filed on or after July 1, 2026), quoted whole from the document as posted (1 page(s)).
Bexar County Probate Court Instructions to Guardian of the Estate (Bexar County Probate Courts, Orders & Forms)
Court instructions a guardian of the estate acknowledges on appointment: qualify within 21 days of the appointing order (oath, bond, letters at $2.00 each); general duties (immediate notice of address changes, of the ward's death or majority with a final account, bond premiums); the inventory, appraisement and list of claims within 30 days of the oath or bond; notice to creditors (publication within one month, certified or registered mail to secured creditors and known claimants within four months); an investment plan within 180 days unless waived; annual accounts within 60 days of each anniversary and a final account at closing; the powers exercisable without court order (insurance, taxes, costs and bond premiums, voting stock); taking possession of the ward's property (changing locks, insured storage, court authority to sell perishables, insured guardianship accounts, no commingling of Social Security benefits, cancelling the ward's credit cards and notifying credit bureaus); and prudent-person management (court orders before any expenditure, sale or lease, a monthly allowance order, no support from a minor's estate absent a showing, insurance, collections and litigation with permission, creditor claims with counsel, no gifts, funeral planning with permission). Letters expire one year and four months after issuance unless renewed after the approved annual accounting.
Bexar County Probate Court Instructions to Guardian of the Person (Bexar County Probate Courts, Orders & Forms)
Court instructions a guardian of the person acknowledges on appointment: qualify within 21 days of the appointing order (oath, bond, letters at $2.00 each); the powers of the guardian of the person (physical possession and legal domicile of the ward, consent to medical, psychiatric and surgical treatment including end-of-life decisions, organ donation, any other power in the order); the duties (care, supervision and protection; clothing, food, medical care and shelter; the annual report on the ward's medical and social condition within 60 days of the anniversary date, with a statement of any funds received or spent; immediate notice to the court of address changes, of the ward's death or a minor ward's eighteenth birthday with a final report, and of any conservatorship or adoption; bond premiums; cooperation with the annual court visitor) and the court's expectations (appropriate housing, frequent meaningful visits, all available benefits, services and opportunities, needed treatment); consult your attorney. Letters expire one year and four months after issuance unless renewed after the annual report.
Bexar County Probate Court Instructions to Guardian of the Person and Estate (Bexar County Probate Courts, Orders & Forms)
Court instructions a guardian of the person and estate acknowledges on appointment: qualify within 21 days of the appointing order (oath, bond, letters at $2.00 each); the guardian of the person's powers (possession and domicile of the ward, consent to medical, psychiatric and surgical treatment and end-of-life decisions, organ donation) and duties (care, supervision and protection; clothing, food, medical care and shelter; the annual report within 60 days of the anniversary date with a statement of funds; immediate notice of address changes, the ward's death or majority, a conservatorship or adoption; bond premiums; cooperation with the annual court visitor) and expectations (housing, visits, benefits, services, treatment); the guardian of the estate's inventory within 30 days, notice to creditors (publication within one month, certified mail within four months), investment plan within 180 days, annual and final accounts, limited powers without court order, taking possession of property (locks, storage, perishables, insured guardianship accounts, no commingling of Social Security benefits, cancelling the ward's credit cards) and prudent-person management (court orders before spending, selling or leasing, no support from a minor's estate absent a showing, insurance, collections, creditor claims, no gifts, funeral planning with permission). Letters expire one year and four months after issuance unless renewed after the annual report and approved accounting.
Court Instructions to the Administrator of the Estate of a Deceased Person (Bexar County Probate Courts, Orders & Forms)
Eleven instructions an administrator of a decedent's estate attests to having read: file the oath and bond within 20 days and the inventory, appraisement and list of claims within 90 days; file an annual account on each anniversary of appointment if the estate stays open past a year (prepared by counsel); publish notice to creditors within one month of receiving letters and give registered-mail notice to real-estate lienholders within two months; keep estate funds in insured accounts in the estate's name with only necessary sums in checking and the rest at the best available interest; obtain a written court order before any expenditure and before selling, leasing or transferring any non-cash asset; keep accurate records; preserve, protect and insure non-cash assets; file the final accounting and seek the heirship determination at closing; and consult counsel on anything not understood.
Court Policy Regarding "Pro Se" Applicants (Applicants without a Lawyer) — Bexar County Probate Court No. 3 (Judge Barbie Scharf-Zeldes)
Probate Court No. 3's policy on self-represented applicants: a person may represent only himself or herself; under Texas law only a licensed attorney may represent the interests of others, including guardianship wards and probate estates, so applicants for letters testamentary, letters of administration, determinations of heirship and guardianships of the person or estate must be represented by a licensed attorney. The court's questions and answers explain that a non-lawyer may serve as executor, administrator or guardian but must be represented, that an executor acts for beneficiaries and creditors as a fiduciary, that preparing pleadings as a fiduciary without a lawyer is the unauthorized practice of law, and that the proceedings a pro se may handle alone are those in which only the applicant's own interests are at stake, such as a small estate affidavit filed by all of a decedent's heirs together (Estates Code chapter 205; the court's Small Estate Affidavit Checklist).