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The Local Rules of the Statutory Probate Courts of Denton County (version 10-01-24, effective Oct. 1, 2024, repealing all prior local rules; registered July 22, 2025): self-represented parties may not apply to serve as executor, administrator or guardian or represent third parties (the clerk accepts the filing but the court takes no action until an attorney appears), and may appear only as a sole muniment-of-title beneficiary, non-corporate creditor, ancillary-suit party or small-estate distributee; cause numbering with '01' ancillary suffixes; transfers need a motion, order and hearing; severed claims filed as new cases; vacation letters 45 days ahead; bankruptcy notice within five days; ad litem reports and $-for-costs security in heirship and guardianship cases; attorney-fee applications under the courts' fee standards; proposed orders agreed by all counsel or submitted 10 days after service with alternative forms and a further 10-day hold; amended pleadings no later than 7 days before trial; non-jury hearing requests state a time estimate; uncontested docket by calling the administrator; weekly mental-health docket; mandatory mediation of all final contested matters; trial settings no sooner than 45 days from request with 7-day objections; continuance motions 10 days before trial; pre-trial conference 10 days before trial with Monday trial starts; dilatory pleas 30 days before trial; one second setting; witness/exhibit lists and motions in limine at trial; evidence in court-of-appeals formats; certificate of conference on every non-dispositive motion; briefs 3 working days ahead; Zoom only for agreed uncontested matters (no telephonic hearings; no contested testimony by Zoom); deposition guidelines with 10-day notice presumption and 30-day video designations; ex parte relief with two hours' notice and the attorney's certificate; private process certificates; withdrawal/substitution without hearing only 45 days before a setting with client consent; DWOP after 60 days of inaction; decorum rules.
Texas > Denton County > Probate Court No. 1 and Probate Court No. 2 (and their associate judge) — all probate, guardianship, mental-health and ancillary proceedings; attorneys and self-represented parties. Approved October 2024 by the presiding judges of both courts and the associate judge.
Rule 1.1(a): "These Rules are the Local Rules of the Statutory Probate Courts of Denton County, Texas … All prior local rules are repealed as of the effective date of these Rules which is October 1, 2024." (c): "These Rules are standing orders of the Denton County Statutory Probate Courts … Knowing or intentional violation of these Rules may be punished by contempt or other sanction …" Rule 1.3(a): "An individual must be represented by an attorney if the individual is: (1) applying to serve as an executor or administrator of an estate; (2) applying for a guardianship for another; or (3) representing a third party, such as a beneficiary, heir, creditor, or estate representative, who seeks relief from the Court." (b): "An individual subject to subsection (a) may present a document to the Clerk for filing, but the Court will take no action on the document until there is an attorney of record in the case." (c): a person may appear self-represented as "(1) the sole beneficiary in a muniment of title action; (2) a non-corporate creditor of a probate or guardianship estate; (3) a non-corporate party in an ancillary civil action; (4) a distributee of an estate appearing pursuant to a small estate affidavit; or (5) otherwise permitted to do so by the Court." Rule 1.4(b): ancillary matters carry the cause number "followed by the number '01'" (then 02, 03 …) and a style naming the parties and the estate, ward or trust. Rule 1.5: transfers under the Estates Code require "a proper motion and proposed order. A hearing on the motion is required to be set. An agreed motion is not binding on the Court." Rule 1.7: vacation letters filed "not later than 45 days prior" bar settings and submissions during the vacation. Rule 1.9(a): bankruptcy notice "filed immediately and not later than five days after the date of the bankruptcy filing." Rule 1.10(e): "In both determination of heirship and guardianship proceedings, the Court shall require the deposit of security for costs for the fees of the attorney ad litem." Rule 1.11: fee applications "must conform to the Court's Standards" for approval of attorney fee applications. Rule 2.2(b): agreed orders signed by all counsel may be entered on submission; otherwise a proposed order may be submitted "no earlier than 10 days (mailbox rule applies) after serving that proposed order or judgment on all other counsel," with a certificate of service and the substance of all communications, objectors submitting an alternative form, and the order "subject to being held an additional 10 days." (c): "Counsel may not file an amendment to a pleading later than seven (7) days before the date a case is set for trial." Rule 2.3(f): non-jury hearing requests "must include an estimate of the hearing time"; (g) the uncontested docket (letters testamentary, muniments, letters of administration, administrative motions, heirships and guardianship applications) is set "by calling the Court Administrator"; (h) "The Court hears a mental health docket at least weekly." Rule 2.4: trials on the merits take precedence over hearings; all proceedings over depositions. Rule 2.5(a): "All final contested matters set for either a bench or jury trial are required to attend mediation." (c): scheduling conferences in every Level 3 case unless an Agreed Scheduling Order is provided. (d): trial settings by written request, "no sooner than forty-five (45) days after the date of request," objections "not later than seven days after receiving the request" with a hearing requested. Rule 2.6(c): "any Motion for Continuance must be filed no less than ten (10) days prior to the trial date"; (d) settlement judgments "not later than thirty (30) days after the passed trial setting." Rule 2.7(a): "the Court will conduct a pre-trial conference at least ten (10) days before the scheduled trial date. Trials will begin on Mondays …"; proposed jury charges before evidence (or 10 days before trial if required). Rule 2.8(a): dilatory pleadings "not later than thirty (30) days before a scheduled trial date"; (b) "Counsel may request only one additional setting as a second setting"; (c) witness list, exhibit list and motion in limine delivered when reporting for trial, exhibits marked and exchanged before trial. Rule 2.9(b): "The Court will not set a motion for hearing unless the moving counsel certifies … that counsel conferred or attempted to confer with opposing counsel" (Certificate of Conference form); (c) not required for dispositive motions or motions for new trial; (g) briefs "not later than three (3) working days before the scheduled hearing"; (h) proposed orders tendered two working days before submission, five days to object. Rule 2.10: "Generally, the Court does not permit telephonic hearings. The Court shall permit hearings via Zoom or similar live-streaming media if the matter is uncontested and agreed upon by all counsel and parties. Generally, the Court will not hear contested matters via Zoom nor will the Court allow witnesses to testify via Zoom in contested matters." Rule 2.11(d): "Notice of less than 10 days under Tex. R. Civ. P. 21a and 202.3(a) is presumed to be unreasonable"; (f) video-deposition designations 30 days before trial, objections within 10 days, heard no later than 10 days before trial. Rule 2.12(b): "The requesting counsel must provide notice to all parties not later than two hours before the time the counsel intends to present the request ex parte"; (c) the Attorney's Certificate for Ex Parte Relief. Rule 2.13(b): no private-process order without counsel's certificate (server 18 or older, not a party, no interest). Rule 2.14: withdrawal motions require a hearing unless filed at least 45 days before a scheduled date with the client's written consent (or agreed by all parties if later); the order "shall contain all settings and pending deadlines" and the client's contact information. Rule 3.1: DWOP for "Failure of counsel to request a setting or take other appropriate action after the case has been pending for more than 60 days," non-appearance or failure to announce ready. Rule 4.1(b): in the courtrooms no tobacco, gum, newspapers, beverages other than water, food, feet on furniture, noise or phones, or electronic devices without permission; (f) no recording of court proceedings; (h) no campaign materials. Rule 4.2(d): "Counsel shall not make speaking objections but only a specific legal objection."
Rule 1.1(a): "These Rules are the Local Rules of the Statutory Probate Courts of Denton County, Texas … All prior local rules are repealed as of the effective date of these Rules which is October 1, 2024." (c): "These Rules are standing orders of the Denton County Statutory Probate Courts … Knowing or intentional violation of these Rules may be punished by contempt or other sanction …" Rule 1.3(a)
Reviewer note: Text-layer registration (19 pp, 41,367 chars) read in full 2026-09-06; quoted verbatim by rule number; the signature page names Judge David Jahn (Probate Court No. 1), Judge Christopher J. Everett (Probate Court No. 2) and the associate judge. Composed benchpath-ajr8-denton. County-site receipt(s) in custody 2026-09-06: https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2606/Local-Rules-of-the-Probate-Court-PDF (identical edition).
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