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Judge Meredith Kennedy's instructions for self-represented litigants completing a divorce in the 78th District Court: service or waiver, the 60-day waiting period, setting a hearing, and completing the final decree.
Applies to self-represented litigants pursuing a divorce in the 78th District Court of Wichita County.
Judge Kennedy's Family Law Case Instructions for Self-Represented Litigants set the steps to complete a divorce in the 78th District Court. After filing the petition, the party must either have the other party served (requesting citation and service and paying the fees at the District Clerk's office) or have the other party sign a Waiver of Service, which must be filed before the court will set a
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-06 from the county-site document (read in full). Court-specific 78th self-represented procedure; judge-joined to Kennedy. The district-wide SRL instructions (WPDM 11898) return a server error to every client (owner-activation gap).
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.
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