Probate courts administer proper distribution of the assets of people who have died without a will, adjudicate the validity of wills, enforce the provisions of valid wills, and prevent malfeasance by executors and administrators of estates.
Probate courts exist only in Texas counties where the legislature has created them, typically in large urban areas. They have exclusive jurisdiction over their counties’ probate matters.
Probate courts in Texas also handle matters of guardianship, trust, and involuntary commitment to psychiatric facilities or other psychiatric treatment.
Here is a map of the probate courts in Texas produced by the TExas Office of Court Administration in October 2023. The largest counties have several probate courts, inculding five in Harris County, three in Bexar County, three in Dallas County, and two each in Travis, El Paso, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
