Probate Courts in the Texas Hill Country

Several covered counties have updated probate filing fees, local rules, and procedures. Key changes reviewed in September 2026:

• Bexar County: Fee schedule effective January 1, 2026 (probate of will: $415; small estate affidavit: $360). The three statutory probate courts share Administrative Order 2024-02 for case assignment and docketing, and Probate Court No. 1 has issued Administrative Order 2025-01. Probate Court No. 2 published updated attorney and fiduciary fee guidelines effective April 1, 2026.
• Kerr County: Official fee schedule effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026 sets the filing fee for an original decedent's estate action at $462 (including $223 local and $137 state consolidated court costs, plus a $90 sheriff's citation fee and other items). No updated schedule effective October 1, 2026 was published as of the October 12, 2026 review; confirm the total with the county clerk.
• Medina County: New probate filing total of $360 (local consolidated fee $223 plus state consolidated fee $137) per the county's official fee schedule. No probate-specific local rules are published; filings follow the statewide Estates Code. (The county's official site hosts a Local Rules of Practice document for the 454th District Court and County Court at Law; a "Medina Probate Court Local Rules" PDF dated July 2025 circulating online is for Medina County, Ohio, not Texas.)
• Kendall County: Contested probate matters are transferred to the 451st District Court, whose local rules were amended March 25, 2025. Probate hearings are held in person; contact the County Clerk to be placed on the docket.
• Comal County: Attorneys must e-file all probate documents (mandatory since January 1, 2015). The County Courts at Law updated their local rules for 2025 ("Local Rules for Caldwell and Comal Counties 2025"), and the Clerk's Office posted an official notice of procedural change covering in-person filing at 199 Main Plaza, Suite 1013, filing by mail, and contact by phone at (830) 221-1149 or fax at (830) 608-2021. Typical probate-of-will filing fee is about $360.
• Statewide: The small estate affidavit threshold remains $75,000 under Texas Estates Code Chapter 205 and was not changed by the 2025 legislative session.
• Statewide fees: The base statutory total for a new probate case remains $360 (local consolidated fee $223 plus state consolidated fee $137).
• Texas Estates Code (Sept 1, 2025): The 89th Legislature enacted probate administration changes, including new inventory requirements, standardized personal representative discharge, enhanced will forgery penalties, and a new requirement (HB 3421, Estates Code §51.254) that statutory probate courts deliver orders through the statewide e-filing system. See the FAQ for a summary.
• Texas Proposition 8 (Nov 2025): Texas voters permanently banned state estate and inheritance taxes through a constitutional amendment.

Individual county pages have specific details where available. Contact each county clerk's office for the most current fee and procedural information. (Updated: October 26, 2026. This review added Bexar Probate Court No. 2's April 1, 2026 attorney and fiduciary fee guidelines, confirmed that Kerr County had still not published an FY 2026-27 fee schedule, and confirmed no 2026 probate-fee increases for Medina, Bandera, or Gillespie Counties. No new Estates Code provisions, TREC advertising or disclosure rule changes, or county filing-fee changes were announced in September or October 2026 beyond the items above; Bexar's January 1, 2026 fee schedule remains in effect. Note: the Texas Supreme Court also finalized statewide amendments to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Texas Rules of Judicial Administration governing local rules and court administration (Misc. Docket No. 26-9019, adopted April 10, 2026), which affect how the covered county courts publish and apply local rules.)