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A self-represented petitioner must serve the respondent under the Rules of Civil Procedure or file a waiver of citation dated and signed after the petition was filed; before requesting a setting must serve the Attorney General and consolidate any child-support case into the divorce, attend the family counseling program if children are involved (as must the spouse, with limited out-of-area exceptions), know the service or waiver date and whether the respondent answered or has counsel, and place a fully completed divorce decree and vital statistics form in the clerk's file; then requests a court date from the court administrator of the court where the case is filed, giving the case number — no date is set without service, waiver or answer and a decree on file, and every blank must be filled in before seeing the judge; the petitioner must keep a current address with the District Clerk or risk dismissal and loss of the filing fee.
Applies to self-represented divorce petitioners in the 36th, 156th and 343rd District Courts sitting in McMullen County (the courts serve Aransas, Bee, Live Oak, McMullen and San Patricio Counties) and, by its terms, in the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law. Issued under the three judges' letterhead; no single judge join. Not registered on TOPICs; posted on the 36th, 156th and 343rd District Courts' own website (www.36-156-343districtcourts.org, served on the CIRA platform under www.co.zapata.tx.us/page/districtcourt.*, from which BenchPath's custody copy was fetched). Procedural information only; not legal advice.
PRO-SE DIVORCE PROCEDURES IN THE DISTRICT COURTS OF ARANSAS, BEE, LIVE OAK, MCMULLEN AND SAN PATRICIO COUNTIES — 36th, 156th & 343rd Judicial District Courts, 2nd Multicounty Court at Law (Starr Boldrick Bauer, District Judge, 36th Judicial District; Boyd W. Bauer, District Judge, 156th Judicial District; Janna K. Whatley, District Judge, 343rd Judicial District — District Judge's Office, P.O. Box 700, Sinton, Texas 78387-0700, (361) 364-9310, districtjudges@gmail.com). The PETITIONER (the party who filed the Divorce) must do the following: 1. Either: Serve the Respondent (the non-filing party) as stated in the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; or, File a Waiver of Citation that is dated and signed after the date the Petition for Divorce is filed. 2. Before requesting a court setting the Pro Se Petitioner MUST: A. If you have a court child support case, The Attorney General must be served AND the Child support case MUST BE CONSOLIDATED INTO the Divorce case. B. Have attended the family counseling program, if children are involved and so MUST their spouse (certain exceptions exist for out of area spouses); C. Know the date of service or the date the Waiver of Citation was filed or whether the Respondent filed an Answer or has an attorney; D. Have a Divorce Decree with all blanks filled in and a vital statistics form (obtained from the clerk) placed in their Divorce file in the Clerk's office. When all of the above requirements have been completed, the Pro Se Petitioner may call or email the Court Administrator of the court that the divorce was filed in at the number listed below to request a court date. You must know or include your case number. If the Respondent was not served, there is no waiver of service or no answer by the Respondent or a Decree of Divorce in the clerk's file then a court date will not be set. All blanks must be filled out in the Divorce Decree prior to seeing the Judge. The Pro Se Petitioner must keep the District Clerk's office notified of their current address. If the Clerk's file does not have a correct address the case may be dismissed and the filing fees will be lost and a new case would then need to be filed with new filing fees. 36th District Court Administrator, 36districtcourt@gmail.com (361) 364-9310 ext. 1; 156th District Court Administrator, 156districtcourt@gmail.com (361) 364-9310 ext. 2; 343rd District Court Administrator, 343districtcourt@gmail.com (361) 364-9310 ext. 3; 2nd Multicounty Court at Law, beatriz.gamboa@beecounty.texas.gov (361) 318-3577. Additional approved resource: www.texaslawhelp.org. www.36-156-343districtcourts.org
PRO-SE DIVORCE PROCEDURES IN THE DISTRICT COURTS OF ARANSAS, BEE, LIVE OAK, MCMULLEN AND SAN PATRICIO COUNTIES — 36th, 156th & 343rd Judicial District Courts, 2nd Multicounty Court at Law (Starr Boldrick Bauer, District Judge, 36th Judicial District; Boyd W. Bauer, District Judge, 156th Judicial District; Janna K. Whatley, District Judge, 343rd Judicial District — District Judge's Office, P.O. Box
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-08 from BenchPath's own-site custody copy (one image-only page read through the vision lane and transcribed; posted twice on the site, identical sha256). Undated on its face; the "2026" file name and current letterhead date the edition, and January 1, 2026 is carried as a placeholder — UNVERIFIED. McMullen County edition of a five-county instrument.
In justice-court eviction cases: the citation sets a personal-appearance trial day not less than 10 nor more than 21 days after the petition is filed; a written answer is permitted but NOT required (appearing on the trial day is what matters); no trial may be held until 4 days after service; and an appeal must be perfected within 5 days after the judgment is signed.
Policy Regarding Pro Se Applicants — Harris County Probate Courts (Probate Court No. 1 posting) — 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.