Probate in Williamson County, Texas: Where to File and What to Expect

Which court hears the case

Under Estates Code Section 32.002(b), when a county has no statutory probate court but has a county court at law that handles probate, that court and the county court share original jurisdiction over probate cases.

In Williamson, the county's probate pages all sit under County Court at Law No. 4, where Judge John B. McMaster presides. The court's small estate checklist is titled for Court at Law #4 and calls it the court hearing probate cases in the county. Its probate information sheet requires estate bonds payable to the judge of County Court at Law #4.

The County Clerk files probate cases for the county courts at law and keeps the probate records. You can look up a case on the county's online judicial records search.

Filing and e-filing

The County Clerk's e-filing page cites the Texas Supreme Court order requiring attorneys to e-file probate cases in county courts at law. Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1) generally doesn't require self-represented filers to e-file, and eFileTexas, the state's filing system, encourages them to.

The clerk's office says the only forms it provides are the small estate affidavit and the guardian's annual report on the person. The court's probate information sheet adds two filing rules for wills and proof of death:

• File the original will with the County Clerk within three business days after the application and a copy of the will are e-filed.
• File a copy of the death certificate, or other proof of death, before the hearing in every probate case. A clear copy is fine.

Who must have a lawyer

County Court at Law No. 4's published pro se policy says anyone applying for letters testamentary, letters of administration, a determination of heirship, or a guardianship must be represented by a licensed attorney. A person without a lawyer may go to court only when representing just themselves.

The court's answers to common questions explain what that leaves. You can serve as executor or administrator without being a lawyer, but a lawyer must represent you. The example the court gives of something you may file on your own is a muniment of title, when you are the only beneficiary under the will and the estate has no debts except those secured by liens on real estate. The court warns that falsely swearing an estate has no creditors can bring a perjury charge.

Dependent administrators also need a lawyer for their annual accountings. The court says it won't consider one filed without an attorney.

Hearings are in person

The court's general information sheet for probate and heirship cases (updated September 1, 2023) says that since December 1, 2021, every hearing in County Court at Law No. 4 has been in person. The court's probate page says probate matters must be set for a hearing and can't be handled on its uncontested docket. You set a hearing by emailing the court administrator listed on the court's page.

The information sheet adds these requirements:

• Every heirship case gets an attorney ad litem, a lawyer the court appoints to represent unknown or incapacitated heirs. Don't set the heirship hearing until the ad litem is appointed.
• Witnesses are expected in person. For a witness who lives outside Texas, the court accepts a deposition on written questions under Estates Code Section 51.203. Affidavits from heirship witnesses aren't enough.
• Send proposed hearing documents to the court's probate auditor at least seven days before the hearing.
• Sign the proof of death and other facts after the hearing. An executor's or administrator's oath can't be signed until the order appointing them is signed.

Small estate affidavits in Williamson County

A small estate affidavit lets the heirs of someone who died without a will collect property worth $75,000 or less, not counting the homestead and exempt property, without opening an administration. Texas Estates Code Chapter 205 sets the rules. The court's checklist (revised February 2022) adds Williamson's requirements:

• If you don't have a lawyer, use the most current court-approved form, posted on County Court at Law No. 4's probate page.
• File a death certificate with the affidavit. A readable copy is fine, but the Social Security number, date of death, and date of birth must be visible.
• Wait at least 30 days after the death.
• Give every asset a value, and list every debt. List any attorney's fees for the affidavit as a debt, or the estate won't repay whoever paid them.
• List each heir's share of each type of property exactly as Texas inheritance law sets it. The checklist says the court won't approve a different split, even if every heir agrees.
• Have every heir with legal capacity sign before a notary, along with two disinterested witnesses who have no interest in the estate, aren't related to the person who died, and can swear to all the facts.
• If an heir is a minor, the court won't approve the affidavit unless the minor's share can go into the court's registry until they turn 18.

The statewide paths, briefly

Williamson's courts apply the same Texas Estates Code as every other county. Which path fits depends mostly on whether there was a will and what the estate owes.

With no will and a small estate, heirs can use the small estate affidavit, using the court-approved form if you don't have a lawyer.

With a will and no unpaid debts except real-estate liens, a muniment of title application can transfer property without appointing an executor. The court says the only beneficiary may file it without a lawyer.

With no will and an estate that needs a court-appointed administrator, the path is an application for letters of administration, which the court's policy says needs a lawyer.

When the family mainly needs to show who inherited real estate, an affidavit of heirship is recorded in the county deed records rather than filed with a court.

Our Texas probate overview walks through how to choose among them.

Common questions

How Legacywyse can help

Legacywyse asks about the family, the will, and the assets, then drafts the Texas forms your path calls for. In Williamson, copy a small estate affidavit's facts onto the court-approved form, and bring drafts for letters or an heirship case to the lawyer who will file them. You handle filing.