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Court information sheet for self-represented divorce litigants: the district clerk's office and court staff cannot give forms or legal advice; before the case is set for final hearing all paperwork must be on file - the petition for divorce, and a waiver of service (signed before a notary no earlier than the day after the petition is filed), proof of service by citation, or the spouse's answer - and a final decree with every applicable blank completed, in the file at least three days before the court coordinator is contacted for a hearing, because the judge reviews the decree before a hearing is set; if both parties sign the decree and an affidavit of prove-up is filed, the divorce may be granted by submission after the 60th day without a hearing; the divorce must be on file sixty days before it can be finalized (limited family-violence exceptions); the court coordinator sets the court date.
Texas > Tenth Administrative Judicial Region > Leon County > 278th District Court. An information sheet for people representing themselves in a divorce; the scheduling contacts are the 278th District Court's coordinators for Walker, Madison and Leon Counties.
DIVORCE INFORMATION FOR PRO SE LITIGANTS If you intend to represent yourself “Pro Se” (without the assistance of an attorney) you must have knowledge to prepare and file the necessary pleadings and present your cause to the Court. **Please be advised the District Clerk's office, nor the court staff can provide example forms or legal advice to aid in preparing your divorce. We are not attorneys and are legally prohibited from giving legal advice. If you have legal questions, you should contact an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Texas to assist you** BELOW IS A CHECKLIST YOU MUST COMPLETE BEFORE APPEARING IN COURT FOR YOUR DIVORCE You MUST have filed all necessary paperwork with the District Clerk's office before your case is set for final hearing. You must have the following: 1. _______ PETITION FOR DIVORCE to file in the District Clerk’s office. The District Clerk’s office will assign a cause number to your divorce. Please have your cause number available when contacting the District Clerk or Judge’s office concerning your case. 2. _______WAIVER OF SERVICE You may have your spouse sign a WAIVER OF SERVICE in front of a notary. This CANNOT be signed and notarized until a day after the divorce petition has been filed. - OR- _______PROOF OF SERVICE If your spouse will not sign the Waiver of Service you must have them served with a CITATION. -OR- _______ANSWER Your spouse may file an Answer to the Original Petition 3. _______ FINAL DECREE The judge will review your decree before a hearing is set. You must complete all applicable blanks or the judge will not review. Make sure it is in your file at least three (3) days before you contact the court coordinator to set your hearing. If both parties have signed the DECREE OF DIVORCE AND an Affidavit of Prove-Up is filed, you may be able to have your divorce granted by submission after the 60th day without having to appear at a hearing. SETTING A HEARING YOUR DIVORCE MUST BE ON FILE SIXTY (60) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF FILING BEFORE THE DIVORCE CAN BE FINALIZED. You will need to contact the Court Coordinator to set your court date. Please note that you will not be able to go before the judge for a final hearing before the 60th day (except in limited situations involving family violence). When you have all of the items completed, contact the court coordinator to schedule your hearing. Walker County: Samantha Echtler sechtler@co.walker.tx.us Madison and Leon Counties: Casey Robertson crobertson@co.walker.tx.us You may visit www.texaslawhelp.org for help on filing a Pro Se Divorce.
DIVORCE INFORMATION FOR PRO SE LITIGANTS If you intend to represent yourself “Pro Se” (without the assistance of an attorney) you must have knowledge to prepare and file the necessary pleadings and present your cause to the Court. **Please be advised the District Clerk's office, nor the court staff can provide example forms or legal advice to aid in preparing your divorce. We are not attorneys a
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-19 (AJR-10 Tenth Region build) from BenchPath custody sources/registered/2899.pdf (application/pdf, 232282 bytes, sha256 bbef911ab9ee0fba1c272627b0891432d58cc9cbf40a65133a87908b0cdae62d; 1 pages) - the TOPICs-registered document: digital text layer normalised (whitespace, hyphenation, page furniture) and every page checked against the rendered PDF; signature and file-stamp blocks bracketed. One-page PDF with a digital text layer, compared with the rendered page; wrapped lines joined; the blank check-off rules are kept as underscores. The sheet is undated: effective_date is the TOPICs registration date. Class ruling 2026-09-19: registered under Forms, but it is the court's checklist of what must be on file before a self-represented divorce is set - published as a rule in the self-represented category. It is the court's own procedural information, reproduced verbatim; BenchPath adds nothing to it. The coordinators' names and e-mail addresses are the court's published scheduling contacts and are kept as printed.
The Precinct 4 justice court's instruction letter: a plea of no contest or guilty makes the fine and costs due, a not-guilty plea brings a mailed court date, remittances by money order or cashier's check only (personal checks returned), juveniles 16 and under must contact the court with a parent or guardian before the appearance date, and payment online or by phone.
3 verbatim requirements from Checklist.