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An administrative order of the Hays County Courts at Law (probate and guardianship) requiring a prominent AI Disclosure Statement in any filing drafted with the aid of generative artificial intelligence and imposing a non-delegable duty of human verification.
Applies to attorneys and self-represented litigants using generative AI in probate and guardianship filings before the Hays County Courts at Law. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
[Seal: Hays County, State of Texas] O-12-005 [File stamp: FILED, 2026 AUG 25 PM 12:09, COUNTY CLERK, HAYS COUNTY, TEXAS, with the clerk's signature] In the County Courts at Law of Hays County, Texas ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER REGARDING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN COURT FILINGS The County Courts at Law of Hays County, Texas, recognize the increasing utilization of generative artificial intelligence (AI), large language models, and automated drafting technologies in legal practice; and The Court maintains an affirmative obligation to safeguard the integrity of proceedings involving decedents' estates under Title 2 and guardianships under Title 3 of the Texas Estates Code, ensuring that all factual representations, statutory analyses, and citations submitted to the Court are accurate, authentic, and properly verified; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following mandatory standards apply to all attorneys, personal representatives, guardians, applicants, and pro se litigants appearing before the Hays County Courts at Law in probate and guardianship proceedings: 1. Mandatory Disclosure of AI Assistance. Any motion, brief, response, objection, inventory, account, proposed order, or other legal instrument submitted to the Court that was drafted, composed, or generated in whole or in part using generative artificial intelligence or automated natural language drafting tools must include a prominent AI Disclosure Statement. 2. Placement and Form of Disclosure. The disclosure must appear immediately preceding the signature block of the filed document in substantially the following form: "Pursuant to the Hays County Courts at Law Administrative Order Regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence in Court Filings, the undersigned attorney/filer certifies that generative artificial intelligence was utilized in the preparation of this document. The undersigned attorney/filer further certifies that every citation, factual representation, quotation, and statutory reference generated with AI assistance has been independently verified for accuracy, authenticity, and applicability by human review." 3. Non-Delegable Duty of Human Verification. The use of AI does not relieve an attorney of their duties under Rule 13 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Chapter 10 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, or the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Every attorney or self-represented litigant submitting an AI-assisted filing remains personally responsible for: a. Verifying that all case citations exist and accurately reflect current, unreversed precedent from the Texas Supreme Court, the Third Court of Appeals, or other binding jurisdictions; b. Confirming that all citations to any Texas Statute, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Texas Rules of Evidence are accurate and current; and c. Ensuring that confidential information, trade secrets, or unredacted sensitive data (pursuant to TRCP Rule 21c) are not improperly disclosed or processed in violation of client confidentiality or protective orders. 4. Sanctions for Non-Compliance. Submitting a document containing fictitious case law, fabricated statutory references, inaccurate legal holdings ("hallucinations"), or failing to disclose the use of generative AI as required in this order may result in: a. Striking of the offending pleading, motion, or document; b. Disallowance or reduction of attorney's fees sought; c. Assessment of monetary sanctions under TRCP Rule 13 or TCPRC Chapter 10; or d. Contempt proceedings or referral to the State Bar of Texas Chief Disciplinary Counsel. THIS HAYS COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER REGARDING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN COURT FILINGS SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY UPON PUBLICATION ON THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION'S WEBSITE AND SHALL GOVERN ALL PROCEEDINGS CURRENTLY PENDING OR SUBSEQUENTLY FILED IN THE COUNTY COURTS AT LAW OF HAYS COUNTY, TEXAS. [signature] Judge Elaine S. Brown, County Court at Law No. 3, Hays County, Texas — Signed: 8/25/26 [handwritten] [signature] Judge Jimmy Alan Hall, County Court at Law No. 1, Hays County, Texas — Signed: 8/25/26 [handwritten] [signature] Judge Chris Johnson, County Court at Law No. 2, Hays County, Texas — Signed: 8/25/26 [handwritten] [Running footer: O-12-005 — Page 1 of 2 / Page 2 of 2]
[Seal: Hays County, State of Texas] O-12-005 [File stamp: FILED, 2026 AUG 25 PM 12:09, COUNTY CLERK, HAYS COUNTY, TEXAS, with the clerk's signature] In the County Courts at Law of Hays County, Texas ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER REGARDING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN COURT FILINGS The County Courts at Law of Hays County, Texas, recognize the increasing utilization of generative artificial intellig
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-06 from the TOPICs custody scan (image-only PDF read through the vision lane). Distinct from the 25th/2nd 25th generative-AI order; this is the Hays County Courts at Law probate/guardianship AI order. Bound to Hays County. Carried on /texas/ai-rules. [TRANSCRIBED BY EYE 2026-09-21 (corpus-0920 P12): every page of the registered file (sha256 9f59c4a810f7..., 2 page(s), image-only scan; the OCR layer used as a typing base and corrected word by word from the page) read against the rendered file; verbatim, source typos kept, stamps/signatures bracketed; the earlier abstract replaced by the full instrument; confidence high. benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p12-2026-09-21]
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.