Administrative Order 2021-A — Gender Neutral Terminology for Personal Representatives (Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1–4) — posted on the court's own website — the court-procedure tier (standing procedures, policies, and preferences the court itself publishes), distinct from the TOPICs-registered local-rules tier (TRCP 3a registration applies to local rules). Operative requirements quoted verbatim; the posted document is the controlling text.
Texas > Harris County > Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1–4
Administrative Order 2021-A, In the Statutory Probate Courts Nos. 1–4, Harris County, Texas — First Amended Administrative Order Regarding Gender Neutral Terminology For Personal Representatives. The Courts find the terms "Executrix" and "Administratrix" are interchangeable with "Executor" and "Administrator" in all documents and matters filed with the Clerk which includes but is not limited to Orders, Judgments, Proofs of Death, and Oaths, and that it is no longer necessary for the Clerk to enforce compliance by requiring the use of the exact same Words as in Wills as with other documents filed with the Clerk. The preferred terms that attorneys, courts, and clerks should use henceforth are "Executor" and "Administrator". The clerks are specifically ORDERED to not reject Oaths on the basis of the use of said interchangeable Words. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Harris County Clerk's office treat alike the words "Executor" and "Executrix", irrespective of the sex, gender, or gender identity of a person named as such, or the term used in a testamentary document, unless otherwise ordered by a judge. IT IS THEREFORE FURTHER ORDERED that the Harris County Clerk's office treat alike the words "Administrator" and "Administratrix" … IT IS THEREFORE FURTHER ORDERED that all statutory probate courts in Harris County, Texas, as well as parties, litigants, and counsel, similarly treat alike these words, except in a matter in which the term itself is relevant to the proceeding. Signed on this the 10th day of March, 2021 [all four probate judges].
Reviewer note: Own-site document live-fetched by us 2026-08-22, byte-identical to the AJR-11 recon capture of 2026-08-21 (dual custody). Operative provisions transcribed by vision-read of the posted scanned document (rasterized at 170 dpi; no usable embedded text layer); the posted document (sha256 407520dbf3ca…) is the controlling text.
18 verbatim requirements from 5th Jud. Cir., M-2018-65 — sha256-hashed 2026-07-25.
2 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1986-33A.