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Chambers County, TX Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Two courts share it. Chambers County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Chambers County (Government Code § 25.0381), created by the Legislature effective January 1, 2021, and it has probate jurisdiction by general law, concurrent with the county court (Government Code § 25.0003(d)). Because there is no statutory probate court here, the county court at law and the Chambers County Court, the constitutional county court presided over by the elected County Judge, have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings under the Texas Estates Code (§ 32.002(b)). The county's own documents show estates running through the county court: the County Judge's page states that the Judge "presides over the Commissioners' Court, as well as Civil, Probate, Juvenile, and County Criminal Courts", and the probate citations the County Clerk posts online are captioned "COUNTY COURT OF CHAMBERS COUNTY, TEXAS". The county court at law sits separately at 312 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, 409-267-2465, with Judge Cindy S. Price presiding (verified July 2026) |
| Filing office | The Chambers County Clerk, who is the clerk of the county court (Texas Constitution article V, § 20) and, for probate, the clerk of the county court at law as well. Chambers has a statute that says so in terms: the district clerk serves the county court at law only in matters of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court "other than misdemeanor cases and probate matters and proceedings", and "The county clerk serves as clerk for all other cases" (Government Code § 25.0382(e)). The clerk's own page describes the office as handling records and fees for the county's civil, criminal, juvenile and probate courts. The Chambers County District Clerk serves the 253rd and 344th District Courts and does not open estates |
| Courthouse | Chambers County Courthouse, 404 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, TX 77514. The county publishes the access rules: the courthouse is entered from the west ground-level entrance, the other doors are fire escapes, and every visitor passes a Sheriff's Office security checkpoint with a walk-through magnetometer and an X-ray belt. The County Clerk also runs a West Annex at 10616 Eagle Dr, Mont Belvieu, TX 77523; the county does not publish whether probate applications are taken there, so call before going to Mont Belvieu with a filing |
| Mailing address | Chambers County Clerk, P.O. Box 728, Anahuac, TX 77514. The same box appears on the clerk's own letterhead. Mail is a real option here for a self-represented filer: the clerk states that mailed documents are accepted from filers who are not represented by an attorney, and that documents mailed by an attorney are returned unfiled |
| Phone | 409-267-2418 for the Chambers County Clerk, the number the clerk publishes and the county staff directory confirms. The county's general switchboard is 409-267-2400, the County Court at Law is 409-267-2465 and the County Judge's office is 409-267-2440. Chambers publishes no separate probate desk number, so probate questions go to the County Clerk's main line |
| Fax | 409-267-8405 for the County Clerk in Anahuac, and 281-385-0832 at the West Annex in Mont Belvieu. Note that neither one takes filings: the clerk states "NO FAX filings will be accepted by this office" |
| Office hours | Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., which is a full lunch closure. The county publishes the same hours on its Courthouse Information page and in the footer of every page of its site (verified July 2026). The County Clerk adds one cutoff of its own on its contact block: the deed room closes at 4:30 p.m., which matters if you are recording a document on the same trip |
| Filing fee | $360.00 to open a probate case. Chambers County publishes the figure itself, in the County Clerk's "Fee Schedules Effective January 1, 2024", whose Probate Fee Schedule reads "Applications for all Probate and Guardianship and to sale Property without Guardianship $360.00". That is the statewide statutory base fee, the same in every Texas county: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)), amounts enacted by S.B. 41 effective January 1, 2022 and amended by S.B. 1612 effective January 1, 2024. Chambers adds its own service items, including a $50.00 probate posting citation or notice, a $100.00 publication citation, $8.00 to issue a citation and $2.00 for each set of letters, and the schedule warns that "Filer is responsible for requesting necessary additional services and paying appropriate fees". See the fee table below |
| Local forms | No local probate forms. Texas has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms, and Chambers County publishes no county application to probate a will, no county order, no county oath and no county small estate affidavit template. Its Court Fees and Forms page carries only the fee schedule, two subpoena applications, a records redaction request and a birth or death certificate application. The clerk also publishes the civil case information sheet, whose own instructions state that it "must be completed and submitted when an original petition or application is filed to initiate a new civil, family law, probate, or mental health case"; the statewide rule that required the sheet, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 78a, was repealed effective December 11, 2018, so ask the clerk whether to include it with a new estate |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys, and Chambers publishes its own date and its own pro se carve-out. The County Clerk's e-filing page states that the electronic filing mandate is "effective January 1, 2016, for Chambers County" and then, in the county's own words, "This mandate does not apply to individuals who are not represented by attorneys." It goes further than most counties in saying what a self-represented filer may do instead: "Mailed documents will only be accepted by Pro-Se filers", and paper documents brought to the counter are accepted from pro se filers, along with original orders from the judge and properly stamped bench filings. No fax filings are accepted from anyone. Attorney filings go through eFileTexas.gov |
| Case search | Chambers County runs its own public case portal, but its probate coverage is not published. The portal at portal-txchambers.tylertech.cloud carries records for the county's District and County Clerks and Justices of the Peace, states that "Cases are searchable by cause number, party or date range and unlimited view only access is free", and that "Documents can be viewed and purchased for $.10 a page". The County Clerk's own description of it names civil and misdemeanor cases and does not mention probate, so confirm with the clerk before relying on it for an estate. What Chambers does publish for probate is its Archive Center of posted probate citations, listed by month, case number and decedent name. Documents e-filed in a Chambers probate case may also be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which requires free registration, charges for documents ($1.00 for a document of 1 to 10 pages and $0.10 per page after that, per its own FAQ) and states that it provides an unofficial copy and that the clerk of the court is the official custodian |
| Remote appearance | Not published. Nothing on the Chambers County site permits a party to appear by telephone or video in a probate matter, and no hearing calendar is published either. The County Clerk's site does list a "Probate Livestream" link under its Probate Postings menu, pointing at the county's own YouTube channel; that is a way to watch, not a way to appear, and no schedule for it is published. Plan on attending in person in Anahuac and ask the County Clerk at 409-267-2418 about any exception |
| Website | https://www.chamberscountytx.gov/244/County-Clerk (the Chambers County Clerk), https://www.chamberscountytx.gov/251/E-Filing (the clerk's e-filing policy), https://www.chamberscountytx.gov/349/Court-Fees-Forms (the fee schedule) and https://www.chamberscountytx.gov/Archive.aspx?AMID=60 (the probate citation postings archive). Note that the older co.chambers.tx.us clerk page now returns a page-not-found error; the county rebuilt its site on chamberscountytx.gov |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Anahuac, know what is actually in the estate and what it owes. Which Texas route fits, and whether an administration is needed at all, turns on whether there is a will, who the distributees are, what the assets are worth, and whether there are unpaid debts. Those routes are set by state statute and work the same way in all 254 Texas counties; they are explained on the Texas state page. Getting the answer before your first filing matters in Chambers County because the county charges the same $360.00 application fee for every probate route it lists, because a posted citation has to run its course before the application can be heard, and because the clerk publishes no probate packet or checklist to catch a wrong turn for you.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of Chambers County or out-of-county real property, along with every debt, before you apply. How each asset is titled decides whether it passes through the estate at all: survivorship accounts, accounts with a named beneficiary and land covered by a recorded transfer on death deed pass outside the estate and never reach the court. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for exactly this step, so that the application filed with the Chambers County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Chambers County Courthouse at 404 Washington Avenue in Anahuac is the published probate filing location for the whole county. It serves every part of Chambers County, including Anahuac, Mont Belvieu, Winnie, Beach City, Cove, Oak Island, Smith Point, Double Bayou and the rural areas between them. The County Clerk also keeps a West Annex at 10616 Eagle Dr in Mont Belvieu, but the county does not say that estates can be opened there, and the clerk's own probate citations are issued "at office in Anahuac, Texas", so treat the courthouse as the counter for an estate and call 409-267-2418 before taking a filing anywhere else.
Venue is the ordinary Texas rule: you file in the county where the decedent lived, if the decedent had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (Estates Code § 33.001(a)(1)). If the person lived in Chambers County, the case belongs here even if they died in a hospital in Baytown, Houston or Beaumont. For a decedent with no Texas domicile or fixed residence, venue depends on where the death happened and where the estate or the nearest of kin are (§ 33.001(a)(2)).
Which court hears the case is the fact most often gotten wrong in a county like this one, and the honest answer is that two courts can. Chambers County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Chambers County (Government Code § 25.0381), which the Legislature created effective January 1, 2021, and a statutory county court has probate jurisdiction by general law, concurrent with the county court (Government Code § 25.0003(d)). Because Chambers has no statutory probate court, the county court at law and the Chambers County Court have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Estates Code § 32.002(b)). A county court at law is never a statutory probate court (Government Code § 25.0003(f)), so nothing here carries the exclusive probate jurisdiction that the twelve statutory probate court counties have. In practice the county's own documents point to the constitutional county court: the County Judge's page says the Judge presides over the county's civil, probate, juvenile and criminal courts, and the probate citations the County Clerk posts are captioned in the County Court of Chambers County, Texas. Either way the filing goes to the same counter.
If a matter in the proceeding becomes contested, Chambers County has a destination its neighbours without a county court at law do not. Under Estates Code § 32.004(a), in a county with no statutory probate court but with a county court at law exercising original probate jurisdiction, when a matter in a probate proceeding is contested the judge of the county court may, on the judge's own motion, or shall, on the motion of any party to the proceeding, transfer the contested matter to the county court at law, and the county judge may also transfer the entire proceeding there. The county court at law then hears what was transferred "as if originally filed in that court", and if only the contested matter went across, it returns to the county court once it is resolved (§ 32.004(b)). That is the whole mechanism in a county of this type: there is no request for the assignment of an outside probate judge and no transfer of the estate to a district court. The 253rd and 344th District Courts sit in Chambers County, and the county court at law shares jurisdiction with them in felony arraignments, pleas and pretrial motions and in family law cases (Government Code § 25.0382(a)), but not in probate.
The jurisdiction process
- Confirm the route and gather the documents. Collect the original signed will if there is one, a certified copy of the death certificate, the names and addresses of the people who inherit, and a list of assets and debts with values. A person named in a will to settle the estate is an executor; a person appointed by the court where there is no will, or where no named executor qualifies, is an administrator; the Texas Estates Code's umbrella term for either is personal representative. Most Texas estates are then run as an independent administration, with the court stepping back after the appointment order and the inventory (Estates Code chapters 401 to 405), and the applications Chambers County posts show exactly that route being used here.
- Draft the papers yourself or with an attorney. Texas has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms and Chambers County publishes none of its own, so the application, the proof of death and other facts, the proposed order, the oath and the inventory are drafted documents rather than fill-in forms. The County Clerk also publishes the civil case information sheet, whose instructions state that it must be submitted when an original application is filed to initiate a new probate case, and it has probate case types on it, including dependent administration, independent administration and other estate proceedings. The statewide rule that once required the sheet, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 78a, was repealed effective December 11, 2018, so ask the clerk whether to include it; completing it costs nothing.
- File with the Chambers County Clerk at the courthouse in Anahuac. Attorneys must file electronically through eFileTexas.gov: the clerk's notice sets the county's date at January 1, 2016 for Chambers County and adds that documents mailed by an attorney "will be returned unfiled so that you may e-file them accordingly". A self-represented filer has three published options, which is more than most Texas counties spell out: e-file voluntarily (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1) permits it but does not require it), mail the documents to P.O. Box 728, Anahuac, TX 77514, or bring them to the counter at 404 Washington Avenue. No fax filings are accepted from anyone.
- Get the original will to the clerk within three business days if you filed electronically. This is statewide and there is no electronic substitute: when a party electronically files an application to probate a document as an original will, the original will must be filed with the clerk within three business days after the application is filed (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). Chambers County repeats it in its own words: "Wills are not required to be filed electronically. If a will is filed electronically, the original must be presented to the Clerk's Office within 3 business days after the application is filed." Take or send the wet-ink original to the County Clerk at 404 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, TX 77514.
- Pay the filing fee and the service items you are asking for. Chambers County's published schedule prices "Applications for all Probate and Guardianship" at $360.00, which is the statewide statutory base ($223 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) plus $137 under § 133.151(a)(1)). Add what your case needs from the same schedule: a probate posting citation or notice is $50.00, a publication citation is $100.00 and issuing a citation is $8.00. The schedule closes with a warning worth reading twice, that the "Filer is responsible for requesting necessary additional services and paying appropriate fees, including citation, posting, personal service, orders/decrees, bond fees, etc., when required". A filer who cannot afford the cost files a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, the statewide form required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145.
- Have the citation posted and let the posting period run. In Texas the clerk issues citation on an application to probate a will or for letters and the officer posts it at the courthouse, which is what the county's $50.00 posting line pays for. Chambers County publishes the citations it posts, so you can read the exact wording it uses: the citation recites that the application "may be heard and acted on by said Court on or after 10 o'clock A.M. on the first Monday next after the expiration of ten days from date of posting this citation", and that the officer must post it "for not less than 10 days before the return day thereof, exclusive of the date of posting". Nothing is heard until that period has run and the return is on file.
- Ask the County Clerk when the matter will be set. Chambers County publishes no probate docket day, no self-scheduling portal and no filing-to-hearing interval, so the return day on the posted citation is the earliest point, not a hearing date. Call 409-267-2418 once the citation is posted and ask how the office sets probate matters.
- Attend the hearing in person at the courthouse in Anahuac. Nothing the county publishes allows a remote appearance in a probate matter. Build in time for the security checkpoint at the west ground-level entrance, and note that the county publishes a courtroom dress code and a list of items the Sheriff's Office will not let past screening, including pocket knives, corkscrews and pepper spray, with no facility to store them for you. Photographing or recording in the courtroom with a phone is prohibited and phones must be on silent.
- Collect the letters. On an admitted will the court grants Letters Testamentary to a qualifying executor (Estates Code § 306.001); where there is no will, or no named executor qualifies, it grants Letters of Administration (§ 306.002). Chambers County charges $2.00 for each set, matching the statutory per-document fee (Local Government Code § 118.061), so order enough for every bank, transfer agent and title company the estate has to deal with.
- Administer the estate and file what the statute requires with the Chambers County Clerk. Notice to beneficiaries follows an order admitting a will (§ 308.002), the published notice to creditors is due within one month of receiving letters (§ 308.051), notice to secured creditors within two months (§ 308.053), and the inventory must be filed with the court clerk before the 91st day after the personal representative qualifies unless the court grants longer (§ 309.051(a)). Chambers County prices a late one on its own schedule, at $25.00 for an inventory filed after 90 days, so the deadline has a local price tag attached. Where the estate is being run as an independent administration, the court's involvement after the appointment order and the inventory is deliberately minimal (Estates Code chapters 401 to 405).
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Chambers County
Chambers County publishes no local probate forms. There is no county application to probate a will, no county proof of death, no county order, no county oath and no county small estate affidavit template. Texas as a whole has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms either: the Texas Judicial Branch forms page carries only will forms, a transfer on death deed kit and civil forms in this area, and the Supreme Court of Texas has not promulgated a small estate affidavit form or a muniment of title form under Government Code § 22.020(b)(1) (Estates Code chapters 205 and 257). In a Chambers County estate the application, the proof of death and other facts, the proposed order, the oath and the inventory are drafted documents.
One more county document is worth knowing about. The County Clerk publishes the civil case information sheet, whose instructions state that it "must be completed and submitted when an original petition or application is filed to initiate a new civil, family law, probate, or mental health case". That wording predates a rule change: the statewide rule that required the sheet, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 78a, was repealed effective December 11, 2018, so ask the clerk whether to include it. Its case-type list includes the probate boxes a filer here will need, among them dependent administration, independent administration and other estate proceedings (Estates Code chapters 401 to 405), so it also records which route you say you are taking.
The other county documents worth reading before you file are the clerk's dated fee schedule and its e-filing policy, both linked below, and the archive of probate citations the clerk has posted, which shows the exact wording Chambers uses. One caution about county documents: the "Local Rules of the County Court at Law of Chambers County Texas" published on the court's page is a scanned image with no machine-readable text, so no rule from it is quoted here; ask the court coordinator at 409-267-2465 if you need to know what it requires. The one genuinely statewide procedural form a Chambers County filer may need is the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, published on the Texas Judicial Branch forms page and required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Civil case information sheet (chamberscountytx.gov) | The cover sheet the County Clerk publishes, with probate case types listed on it. Its instructions still carry the pre-repeal mandatory wording; the statewide rule that required it, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 78a, was repealed effective December 11, 2018, so ask the clerk whether to include it |
| Fee Schedules Effective January 1, 2024 (chamberscountytx.gov) | The County Clerk's dated fee schedule, whose Probate Fee Schedule carries nineteen itemized probate lines from the $360.00 application down to $2.00 letters |
| Chambers County Clerk e-filing policy (chamberscountytx.gov) | The county's own electronic filing rules: the January 1, 2016 mandate date for Chambers County, the statement that the mandate does not apply to people who are not represented by attorneys, what may be mailed or brought to the counter, the no-fax rule, and the three-business-day original will rule |
| Probate postings archive (chamberscountytx.gov) | The probate citations the County Clerk has posted, listed by month, case number and decedent name, in the county's own wording |
| Texas Judicial Branch court forms (txcourts.gov) | The statewide forms that do exist, including the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145, and the Supreme Court of Texas will forms. There is no statewide application, order, oath or inventory form |
Fees
Chambers County publishes a dated fee schedule over the County Clerk's name, "Fee Schedules Effective January 1, 2024", and its Probate Fee Schedule is itemized line by line. That is unusual at this county size and it means you can price a Chambers County estate before you file rather than after. The figures below are the county's own, read from that schedule; the schedule's closing note is that the "Filer is responsible for requesting necessary additional services and paying appropriate fees, including citation, posting, personal service, orders/decrees, bond fees, etc., when required".
| Item | Amount | Authority or source |
|---|---|---|
| Application to open a probate case | $360.00 | Chambers County's published Probate Fee Schedule: "Applications for all Probate and Guardianship and to sale Property without Guardianship $360.00", effective January 1, 2024. It matches the statewide statutory base exactly: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)), amounts enacted by S.B. 41 effective January 1, 2022 and amended by S.B. 1612 effective January 1, 2024 |
| Adverse action, contest or interpleader | $120.00 | Chambers County's schedule, matching the statutory figure for an action other than the original application: $75 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(2) plus $45 under § 133.151(a)(2). The county prices a motion to show cause, an application to convert a temporary appointment to a permanent one, and an application to determine heirship filed as a second action at the same $120.00 |
| Probate posting citation or notice | $50.00 | Chambers County's schedule. This is the posted courthouse citation that has to run before an application can be heard |
| Publication citation | $100.00 | Chambers County's schedule, for a citation served by newspaper publication. Newspaper charges for the creditor notice under Estates Code § 308.051 are billed separately by the publisher |
| Issuing a citation | $8.00 | Chambers County's schedule, matching the statutory issuing-document fee the county clerk must collect (Local Government Code § 118.059) |
| Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration | $2.00 each | Chambers County's schedule, matching the statutory per-document fee (Local Government Code § 118.061). Order enough sets for every institution the estate deals with |
| Inventory filed after 90 days | $25.00 | Chambers County's schedule. The statutory deadline is that the inventory be filed with the court clerk before the 91st day after the personal representative qualifies, unless the court grants longer (Estates Code § 309.051(a)); the county's line item is the price of missing it. Annual and final accountings are $25.00 each |
| Depositing a will for safekeeping | $26.00 | Chambers County's schedule. Note that the statutory deposit and safekeeping of wills fee is $5.00 (Local Government Code § 118.062), so the county's published figure is higher; ask the County Clerk at 409-267-2418 what the difference covers before you pay it |
| Smaller published items | $40.00 jury fee; $40.00 private professional guardian registration; $10.00 creditor's claim; $10.00 annual report; $5.00 certificate of compliance; $2.00 judge's signature on orders | Chambers County's Probate Fee Schedule, effective January 1, 2024. Copies are $1.00 and certification of copies $5.00 on the same schedule, cited there to Local Government Code §§ 118.0145 and 118.014 |
| Electronic filing charges | Set by the vendor, not by Chambers County | Filing through eFileTexas.gov carries the electronic filing service provider's own charge and any card surcharge, on top of the court costs above. Chambers County publishes no county electronic filing fee of its own |
| If you cannot afford the fee | No cost | File a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, the statewide form required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145. The court must waive the electronic filing fee for a person it determines is indigent (Government Code § 72.031(f)) |
Two cautions. The $360.00 base is fixed by statute and is identical in all 254 Texas counties, so a materially higher number you see quoted for Chambers is either a total that already includes posting, citation and publication items or is out of date. And the county's schedule is a menu, not a bill: what you actually pay depends on which services you ask the clerk to perform, which is exactly what the schedule's closing note is warning about.
Local nuance
Chambers County-specific considerations
Two courts, one counter, and the county's paperwork tells you which court it is using. This is the part of a Chambers County filing that reads oddly if you do not know the structure. The County Court at Law of Chambers County and the Chambers County Court have concurrent original probate jurisdiction (Estates Code § 32.002(b); Government Code §§ 25.0381, 25.0003(d)), so as a matter of law an estate can sit in either. The county's own probate citations are captioned "COUNTY COURT OF CHAMBERS COUNTY, TEXAS" and recite that the application was filed in the County Court of Chambers County, and the County Judge's page lists probate among the courts the Judge presides over. Neither court is a statutory probate court and neither has exclusive probate jurisdiction. The filing goes to the Chambers County Clerk either way.
Chambers spells out what a self-represented filer may do, and most Texas counties do not. The clerk's e-filing page states plainly that "This mandate does not apply to individuals who are not represented by attorneys", that "Mailed documents will only be accepted by Pro-Se filers", and that paper documents brought to the counter are accepted from pro se filers, from the judge as original orders, and as properly date-stamped bench filings. The flip side is strict: documents mailed by an attorney are returned unfiled, no paper is taken over the counter from an attorney outside those exceptions, and "NO FAX filings will be accepted by this office" from anyone. If you are filing without a lawyer, you have a genuine paper route here.
The original will still has to arrive physically, and the clerk repeats the rule. Chambers publishes the statewide exception in its own words: "Wills are not required to be filed electronically. If a will is filed electronically, the original must be presented to the Clerk's Office within 3 business days after the application is filed", which is Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12). Documents filed under seal or in camera, and documents whose access is restricted by law or court order, must not be e-filed at all.
The posted citation, not a hearing date, sets the earliest point in the case. Chambers County publishes the probate citations its clerk posts, and their wording is the most concrete timing statement the county makes: an application "may be heard and acted on by said Court on or after 10 o'clock A.M. on the first Monday next after the expiration of ten days from date of posting this citation", with the officer required to post it "for not less than 10 days before the return day thereof, exclusive of the date of posting". The county publishes no docket day, no self-scheduling portal and no filing-to-hearing interval, so do not read the return day as your hearing date; ask the County Clerk how the office sets matters once the posting is done.
Chambers publishes its probate postings and a probate livestream link, which is unusual, and neither one is a case search. The clerk maintains an Archive Center category of posted probate citations, listed by month, case number and decedent name, and most of its recent probate case numbers run in a CPR series. Under the same menu the clerk links a "Probate Livestream" to the county's own YouTube channel. Watching a proceeding is not the same as appearing in one, no schedule for the stream is published, and the county's separate Odyssey case portal is described by the clerk as covering civil and misdemeanor cases without naming probate. For a reliable answer about a particular estate, call the County Clerk at 409-267-2418.
The courthouse itself has published rules, and they are stricter than many. Entry is from the west ground-level entrance only, the other doors are fire escapes, and every visitor goes through a Sheriff's Office checkpoint with a magnetometer and an X-ray belt. The county publishes a list of items that will not get through, including pocket knives, corkscrews, pepper spray and laser pointers, and warns that the deputy cannot store or discard anything for you. A courtroom dress code applies: no shorts, no immodest or revealing wear, no clothing with offensive wording, no exposed undergarments, and no hats, caps, head coverings or sunglasses without the court's permission. Phones must be silent and photography or recording in the courtroom is prohibited. All firearms, including handguns carried under a license, are prohibited at the county's court locations.
Recent updates
| Change | What it means in Chambers County |
|---|---|
| The County Court at Law of Chambers County was created effective January 1, 2021 | Government Code § 25.0381, added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 606 (S.B. 891), gave Chambers County its first statutory county court. Because a statutory county court has probate jurisdiction by general law, concurrent with the county court (Government Code § 25.0003(d)), Chambers moved from a one-court county to a two-court county for probate purposes (Estates Code § 32.002(b)), and a contested probate matter can now be transferred to the county court at law under § 32.004 instead of leaving the courthouse |
| County Clerk fee schedule effective January 1, 2024 | The clerk's published "Fee Schedules Effective January 1, 2024" carries an itemized Probate Fee Schedule: $360.00 to apply, $120.00 for an adverse action or contest, $100.00 for a publication citation, $50.00 for a probate posting, $25.00 for an inventory filed after 90 days and $2.00 for each set of letters, among others |
| Photo identification required for in-person real property filings, effective September 1, 2025 | The County Clerk states that from that date all persons presenting a document for filing in person in the Real Property Records of Chambers County must provide a photo ID to the clerk, citing Local Government Code chapter 191. It does not govern a probate application, but it will affect the same trip if you are recording a deed or an affidavit in the estate |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Chambers County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the home in Anahuac, Mont Belvieu or Winnie was held with a right of survivorship or passed under a recorded transfer on death deed, it goes to the survivor outside the estate and no court is involved in the house itself. Where other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse applies through the Chambers County Clerk at 404 Washington Avenue in Anahuac, with the civil case information sheet the clerk publishes. Budget the county's published $360.00 application fee (the statutory base of $223 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) plus $137 under § 133.151(a)(1)) plus the $50.00 posting citation, and if you e-file, get the wet-ink original will to the clerk within three business days (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). The posted citation has to run before the application can be heard. | Asset discovery to establish how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Chambers County filing, including the cover sheet the clerk requires. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be disputed. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | More of this can be done from a distance in Chambers County than in most Texas counties, because the clerk publishes a paper route for people without a lawyer: "Mailed documents will only be accepted by Pro-Se filers", to the Chambers County Clerk, P.O. Box 728, Anahuac, TX 77514. An unrepresented party may also e-file voluntarily through eFileTexas.gov but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)); an attorney must e-file, and anything an attorney mails is returned unfiled. Whether a court filing is needed at all depends on the assets and whether there is a will, and those routes are statewide. Two things still tie the case to Anahuac: an original will must reach the clerk within three business days of an electronically filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)), and the county publishes no remote appearance option for probate. | Asset discovery to size the estate from out of state and confirm which route fits before anyone books a flight. Packet generation so the filing is accepted the first time, whether it goes in by mail or through eFileTexas.gov. Attorney referral where an in-person hearing in Anahuac makes local counsel the practical answer. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Selling real property means someone needs the authority document, so this goes through an administration. The parent applies through the Chambers County Clerk, pays the county's $360.00 application fee and the $50.00 posting citation, and waits out the posted citation, which the county's own form says lets the application be heard on or after 10 o'clock A.M. on the first Monday after ten days from posting. At the hearing the court appoints the personal representative and grants Letters of Administration (Estates Code § 306.002), or Letters Testamentary if there is a will (§ 306.001). Order several sets at $2.00 each (Local Government Code § 118.061), because the title company will want a recent one. The inventory follows, filed with the County Clerk before the 91st day after the representative qualifies (§ 309.051(a)); Chambers charges $25.00 if it is late. | Asset discovery for the child's accounts, insurance and real property. Packet generation for the administration and the inventory. Attorney referral where a sale, a mortgage payoff or a disagreement among heirs makes counsel worthwhile, which matters more here because a contested matter can be transferred to the County Court at Law of Chambers County (Estates Code § 32.004). |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Chambers County Clerk (chamberscountytx.gov), 409-267-2418 | The filing office for estates in Chambers County: the 404 Washington Avenue counter in Anahuac, the P.O. Box 728 mailing address, the West Annex in Mont Belvieu, the fax numbers, and the county's records and payment links. Clerk staff can explain procedure and what the counter needs, but cannot give legal advice |
| Chambers County Clerk e-filing policy (chamberscountytx.gov) | The single most useful local page for a filer here: the county's January 1, 2016 mandate date, the express statement that the mandate does not apply to people who are not represented by attorneys, what may be mailed or handed over the counter, the no-fax rule, and the three-business-day original will rule |
| Fee Schedules Effective January 1, 2024 (chamberscountytx.gov) | The County Clerk's dated fee schedule with an itemized Probate Fee Schedule, from the $360.00 application to $2.00 letters |
| Probate postings archive (chamberscountytx.gov) | The probate citations the County Clerk has posted, by month, case number and decedent name. Useful for seeing the county's exact wording and for checking whether a citation in a particular estate has been posted |
| Chambers County case portal (portal-txchambers.tylertech.cloud) | The county's public case search for its District and County Clerks and Justices of the Peace. Index searching is free and documents are $0.10 a page. The County Clerk describes it as covering civil and misdemeanor cases and does not name probate, so confirm probate coverage with the clerk |
| County Court at Law of Chambers County (chamberscountytx.gov), 409-267-2465 | The court that shares probate jurisdiction with the county court and takes a contested probate matter on transfer (Estates Code § 32.004). Its page carries the court's dress code, its exhibit and court reporter rules, and its local rules PDF, which is a scanned image with no machine-readable text |
| Chambers County courthouse information (chamberscountytx.gov) | What to expect on the day: the west ground-level entrance, the security checkpoint, the list of prohibited items, the courtroom dress code and the courtroom rules |
| eFileTexas.gov | Registration for the statewide electronic filing system, the list of certified electronic filing service providers, and filing instructions. This is where an attorney files a Chambers County probate application, and where an unrepresented filer may file if they choose to |
| re:SearchTX (research.txcourts.gov) | The statewide court records portal, run by the Office of Court Administration with Tyler Technologies. Free registration is required, documents are charged for, and the portal states that it provides an unofficial copy and that the clerk of the court is the official custodian. Coverage is set county by county, so confirm anything important with the Chambers County Clerk |
| Texas State Law Library probate research guide (guides.sll.texas.gov), (844) 829-2843 toll free in Texas | The strongest government self-help source for Texas probate, from a state agency: general information, probating a will, when there is no will, executors, formal administration, informal methods and legal forms. The library's own caveat is that it cannot tell you what the law means for your situation |
| TexasCourtHelp.gov | General information and videos about making your way through the Texas court system. The Chambers County Clerk links this site from its own Court Fees and Forms page |
| TexasLawHelp.org, wills, estate planning and probate (texaslawhelp.org) | Plain-language Texas probate articles and self-help toolkits from the Texas Legal Services Center, a non-profit. The County Court at Law points self-represented litigants here in its own notice. Useful for orientation; it is not a court site and its materials are not court-approved forms |
| Lone Star Legal Aid (lonestarlegal.org), 1-800-733-8394 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. Lone Star Legal Aid's own offices page lists Chambers County under its Galveston office and states that the Galveston office has closed while the counties it served continue to be covered, so apply through the online intake or the toll-free line. Confirm it can take a decedent's estate matter before relying on it |
| State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral and Information Service (texasbar.com), (800) 252-9690 | Referrals to Texas attorneys, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central, Spanish spoken. The initial consultation is capped at $20 for 30 minutes. It is a referral service, not a reduced-fee or pro bono program |
| Texas law libraries directory (guides.sll.texas.gov) | The Texas State Law Library's curated directory. It lists no law library in Chambers County; the nearest listed are the Liberty County Law Library, 1915 Trinity Street, Liberty, (936) 336-4610, and the Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library, 1019 Congress Street, 1st Floor, Houston, (713) 755-5183. The directory is curated rather than exhaustive, so contact a library directly about public access |
| Texas Estates Code (statutes.capitol.texas.gov) | The statute itself, including the court structure provisions in chapter 32, venue in chapter 33, letters in chapter 306, notices in chapter 308 and the inventory in chapter 309 |
When to hire an attorney
Plenty of uncontested Chambers County estates are handled without a lawyer, and the county's own rules assume some filers will be doing it alone: the County Clerk publishes a paper and mail route for people who are not represented, and the County Court at Law tells self-represented litigants where to look for forms while noting that "Courts are prohibited from giving legal advice." Counsel earns its keep here when a will or an appointment is likely to be challenged, when there is no will and the heirs have to be determined, when real property has to be sold or divided, when the estate is insolvent or a creditor is pressing, when a business or out-of-state property is involved, or when a guardianship has to run alongside the estate. Two local factors weigh in favor of an attorney. First, Chambers County publishes no probate forms at all, so every substantive document is drafted from scratch. Second, the contested-matter route has a real consequence: if a matter becomes contested, the judge of the county court may on the judge's own motion, and shall on the motion of any party, transfer the contested matter to the County Court at Law of Chambers County, and may transfer the entire proceeding there (Estates Code § 32.004), which changes who is hearing your case mid-stream. County Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Chambers County and the surrounding upper Gulf Coast.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to surface bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Chambers County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which estate settlement route fits before anything is filed in Anahuac.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, drafted to what the Chambers County Clerk expects, including the civil case information sheet the county publishes for new applications, ready to file at the counter, by mail or through eFileTexas.gov.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Chambers County.
Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file for probate in Chambers County?
With the Chambers County Clerk at the Chambers County Courthouse, 404 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, TX 77514, or by mail to P.O. Box 728, Anahuac, TX 77514 if you are not represented by an attorney. File in Chambers County if the decedent lived here and had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (Estates Code § 33.001(a)(1)). The County Clerk also runs a West Annex in Mont Belvieu, but the county does not publish it as a probate counter, so call 409-267-2418 first if that is closer for you.
Which court hears probate in Chambers County?
Two courts share it. Chambers County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Chambers County (Government Code § 25.0381), created effective January 1, 2021, and because the county has no statutory probate court, that court and the Chambers County Court, the constitutional county court presided over by the elected County Judge, have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Estates Code § 32.002(b); Government Code § 25.0003(d)). In practice the county's own posted probate citations are captioned in the County Court of Chambers County, Texas, and the County Judge's page lists probate among the courts the Judge presides over. Either way the application is filed with the Chambers County Clerk.
Is e-filing required for probate in Chambers County?
For attorneys, yes. The County Clerk's e-filing page sets the county's date at January 1, 2016 for Chambers County and states that documents mailed by an attorney "will be returned unfiled so that you may e-file them accordingly". For everyone else, no: Chambers publishes the carve-out in its own words, "This mandate does not apply to individuals who are not represented by attorneys", which matches the statewide rule that an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). A self-represented filer may mail documents or bring them to the counter. No fax filings are accepted from anyone. Note that the county's separate "E-File Mandate effective July 1, 2019" notice is about criminal cases, not probate.
What do I do with the original will in Chambers County?
If you file electronically, you e-file the application and then deliver the wet-ink original will to the clerk. The statewide rule is that when a party electronically files an application to probate a document as an original will, the original will must be filed with the clerk within three business days after the application is filed (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)), and Chambers County repeats it: "Wills are not required to be filed electronically. If a will is filed electronically, the original must be presented to the Clerk's Office within 3 business days after the application is filed." Deliver or send it to the Chambers County Clerk, 404 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, TX 77514. There is no electronic way to satisfy this.
How much does it cost to file probate in Chambers County?
$360.00 for the application. Chambers County publishes the figure on its own dated schedule, "Applications for all Probate and Guardianship and to sale Property without Guardianship $360.00", effective January 1, 2024, and it matches the statewide statutory base: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)). On top of that the county charges for what you ask it to do, including $50.00 for a probate posting citation, $100.00 for a publication citation, $8.00 to issue a citation and $2.00 for each set of letters. A later contested or adverse action is $120.00 (§ 135.102(a)(2); § 133.151(a)(2)). If you cannot afford the cost, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145).
Are there local probate forms in Chambers County?
No. Chambers County publishes no probate forms, no packet and no small estate affidavit template, and Texas has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms either, so the application, the proof of death and other facts, the order, the oath and the inventory are drafted documents. The one other county document to know about is the civil case information sheet the clerk publishes, whose instructions state that it must be submitted when an original application is filed to initiate a new probate case; the statewide rule that required the sheet, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 78a, was repealed effective December 11, 2018, so ask the clerk whether to include it.
When will my Chambers County probate application be heard?
The county publishes no docket day and no filing-to-hearing interval, so the honest answer is that the posted citation sets the earliest possible point and the clerk sets the rest. The citations Chambers County posts say that the application "may be heard and acted on by said Court on or after 10 o'clock A.M. on the first Monday next after the expiration of ten days from date of posting this citation", with the posting to run "for not less than 10 days before the return day thereof, exclusive of the date of posting". Call the County Clerk at 409-267-2418 once your citation is posted and ask how the office will set the matter.
How do I look up a Chambers County probate case online?
Start with the County Clerk. Chambers County runs its own case portal for its District and County Clerks and Justices of the Peace, where index searching is free and documents cost $0.10 a page, but the County Clerk's own description of that portal names civil and misdemeanor cases and does not mention probate, so its probate coverage is not published. The county does publish an archive of the probate citations it has posted, listed by month, case number and decedent name. Documents e-filed in a Chambers probate case may also be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which requires free registration, charges for documents, and states that it supplies an unofficial copy and that the clerk of the court is the official custodian. For a definitive answer, call the Chambers County Clerk at 409-267-2418.
What happens if someone contests the will in Chambers County?
It can move courts, and that is the practical difference between Chambers and a county with no county court at law. Under Estates Code § 32.004(a), in a county with no statutory probate court but with a county court at law exercising original probate jurisdiction, when a matter in a probate proceeding is contested the judge of the county court may, on the judge's own motion, or shall, on the motion of any party, transfer the contested matter to the county court at law, and the county judge may also transfer the entire proceeding there. The county court at law hears what was transferred as if it had been filed there originally, and if only the contested matter went across, it comes back to the county court once it is resolved (§ 32.004(b)). The court on the receiving end is the County Court at Law of Chambers County, 312 Washington Avenue, Anahuac, 409-267-2465.
Do I have to travel to Anahuac, or can I appear remotely in a Chambers County probate matter?
For the hearing, plan on travelling: nothing the county publishes allows a party to appear by telephone or video in a probate matter, and no hearing calendar is published either. The County Clerk's site does carry a "Probate Livestream" link to the county's own YouTube channel, but watching a proceeding is not appearing in one and no schedule for the stream is published. Allow time for the security checkpoint at the west ground-level entrance, and ask the County Clerk at 409-267-2418 about any exception. More of the rest can be done at a distance here than in most Texas counties, because the County Clerk accepts mailed documents from filers who are not represented by an attorney, at P.O. Box 728, Anahuac, TX 77514, and an attorney can e-file everything through eFileTexas.gov. The other physical requirement is the original will, which must reach the clerk within three business days of an electronically filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). The counter is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.