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The Statutory Probate Courts of Tarrant County's Uniform Standing Order Regarding Pro Se Applicants (revised Aug. 17, 2011; posted by Probate Court No. 1): applicants for letters testamentary, letters of administration, heirship determinations and guardianships must be represented by a licensed attorney because a fiduciary acts for others — pro se fiduciary applications are the unauthorized practice of law and will not be allowed; the same policy covers next friends under TRCP 44, assigned claims, trustees and non-attorney amici; counsel is appointed only where state law mandates it, never for indigency; the clerk must accept pro se filings but the court takes no action on them without an attorney of record; pro se representation is permitted only for oneself — a sole-beneficiary muniment of title with no unsecured debts, a contestant not seeking appointment, a non-corporate creditor's claim, or a non-corporate party in an ancillary civil action; on a motion to withdraw with no substitute counsel the court takes the motion under advisement for 30 days and orders the representative to retain counsel within 30 days or face citation and show cause for removal; in contested matters a pro se appearance may be continued by written order up to 60 days to retain counsel, with dismissal for want of prosecution if none appears.
Texas > Tarrant County > Probate Court No. 1 and Probate Court No. 2 — self-represented applicants and parties in decedents' estates, guardianships, heirships and ancillary matters. Probate Court No. 2 also publishes its own Pro Se Policy (Jan. 1, 2018), composed separately.
"I. Basic Policy — Because an estate (whether a decedent's estate or a guardianship estate) can only appear in a court proceeding by or through its personal representative, an individual attempting to represent 'himself' or 'herself' is necessarily also attempting to represent others such as the estate beneficiaries, the heirs or the ward. This responsibility to act for the benefit of another is known as a fiduciary relationship. It gives rise to certain legal obligations and responsibilities that require legal expertise. Under Texas law, individuals applying for letters testamentary, letters of administration, determinations of heirship, and guardianships of the person or estate must be represented by a licensed attorney. … Unless the pro se applicant appearing as a fiduciary is also a licensed attorney, this constitutes the unauthorized practice of law and will not be allowed by the Court. … Other instances where this policy applies include: attempting to appear as 'next friend' pursuant to TEX. R. CIV. P. 44 without an attorney; individually pursuing claims assigned by others without retaining counsel; appearing as a trustee without trust counsel; and non-attorneys appearing, intervening or filing matters as an amicus curiae ('friend of the court'). … II. Appointed Counsel — It is the policy of this court that counsel will be appointed for litigants only where mandated by state law, such as guardianship, trust and mental health proceedings. The court does not appoint counsel for litigants because of indigency. III. Restriction for Applicants for Fiduciary Appointments — Although the clerk is required to accept documents for filing by pro se applicants, the court will take no action on the documents unless there is an attorney of record in that case. IV. Permitted Instances of Pro Se Representation: In limited situations, a person may represent himself or herself. These are situations in which that person is representing only himself or herself. Examples: 1. An individual applying to probate a will as a muniment of title when the applicant is the sole beneficiary under the will and there are no debts against the estate other than debts secured by liens against real estate. NOTE: Whether a muniment of title is the correct probate procedure for a particular situation is a legal decision that is best made by an attorney. One falsely swearing that the estate has no creditors, including Medicaid estate recovery, is subject to a perjury charge. 2. An individual contesting the application of another where the contestant is not seeking to be appointed as a personal representative. 3. A non-corporate creditor making a claim against an estate under administration in the probate court. 4. A non-corporate party in a civil action ancillary to a proceeding in the probate court. V. Subsequent Discharge of Attorney — … Should this occur, and the personal representative has not yet complied with all the requirements of the Texas Probate Code to fully administer that estate, that individual will be required to retain other legal counsel to complete the administration. … In hearing a Motion for Counsel to Withdraw pursuant to TEX. R. CIV. P. 10, if no counsel is to be substituted in at the time of the hearing, the court will hear the motion and take it under advisement for thirty (30) days. This will give the personal representative sufficient time to retain counsel. The order allowing the withdrawal of counsel shall also order the personal representative to retain counsel within thirty (30) days of the order allowing such withdrawal or be subject to citation and show cause for removal pursuant to TEX. PROB. CODE §§149C(a)(5)&(6) and 761(c)(3). VI. Contested Matters: Pro Se Appearance — In a contested proceeding, if a party appears pro se, whether filing an answer or making an appearance, and it is a situation other than those above listed as exceptions, the court may continue any pending matter by written order, to a date certain, not to exceed sixty (60) days, to enable the individual to retain counsel. Once retained counsel has made an appearance, the matter may proceed. If the pro se individual fails to retain counsel, or if no counsel makes an appearance by the date in the order of continuance, the court may dismiss the pleadings or application of the pro se individual for failure to prosecute the case with due diligence." Revised August 17, 2011.
"I. Basic Policy — Because an estate (whether a decedent's estate or a guardianship estate) can only appear in a court proceeding by or through its personal representative, an individual attempting to represent 'himself' or 'herself' is necessarily also attempting to represent others such as the estate beneficiaries, the heirs or the ward. This responsibility to act for the benefit of another is k
Reviewer note: Own-site instrument (not in the TOPICs registry): image-only 2-page PDF rendered (pypdfium2) and read page by page 2026-09-06 (vision lane); transcribed verbatim. Composed benchpath-ajr8-tarrant (own-site lane).
Dallas County Standing Order Regarding Children, Pets, Property and Conduct of the Parties (Family District Courts General Orders, current edition F2026/05, revised Jan. 31, 2026 — a re-adoption of the same operative text by the current bench: Hon. Kim Brown (254th), Vonda Bailey (255th), Sandre Streete (256th), Ashley Wysocki (301st), Sandra Jackson (302nd), LaDeitra Adkins (303rd), and Andrea D. Plumlee (330th)), as registered in the statewide TOPICs local-rules registry (posted 01/11/2023). The order "applies in every divorce suit and every suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed in Dallas County" automatically, without request: child-disruption prohibitions, pet protection, party-conduct restraints, divorce-case property/records/insurance freezes with specific authorizations, mandatory petition attachment, and its TRO-to-temporary-injunction lifecycle.
General Order of the Civil District Courts sitting in Dallas County (signed April 6, 2020 by the thirteen civil presiding judges), as registered in the statewide TOPICs local-rules registry (posted 10/07/2023): the 25-page limit on motions and briefs with formatting floors — the instrument the individual courts' policies cite as the amended page-limit rule.