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Kleberg County, TX Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Two courts, concurrently. Kleberg County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Kleberg County (Government Code § 25.1391), and it sits in the county seat. Because the county has a county court at law exercising original probate jurisdiction and no statutory probate court, that court and the Kleberg County Court, the constitutional county court presided over by the elected County Judge, have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Texas Estates Code § 32.002(b); Government Code § 25.0003(d)). The county publishes no statement of which of the two dockets estates in practice, so ask the County Clerk before you caption your application. The county names Judge Jaime E. Carrillo of the County Court at Law and County Judge Rudy Madrid on their own pages (verified July 2026) |
| Filing office | The Kleberg County Clerk, Salvador "Sonny" Barrera III (verified July 2026), who is clerk of the county court under the Texas Constitution article V, § 20 and clerk of the county court at law for probate. Government Code § 25.1392(f) is explicit: "The district clerk serves as clerk of each county court at law in cases enumerated in Subsection (a)(2), and the county clerk serves as clerk of a county court at law in all other cases." Subsection (a)(2) is felony arraignments and pleas, so probate is in "all other cases". The Kleberg County District Clerk serves the 105th District Court and does not open estates |
| Courthouse | Kleberg County Courthouse, 700 E Kleberg Ave, Kingsville, TX 78363. The County Clerk, the County Court at Law and the County Judge are all in this building; the county publishes no floor, wing or room number for the clerk's counter |
| Mailing address | Kleberg County Clerk, P. O. Box 1327, Kingsville, TX 78364, as published on the clerk's page. Note that the clerk's own fee schedule document heads with a different box number and ZIP, so call 361-595-8548 to confirm before you mail anything you cannot replace, and never post an original will without speaking to the office first |
| Phone | 361-595-8548 for the Kleberg County Clerk, the filing counter for estates; the clerk also publishes 361-595-8549 for appointments. The County Court at Law publishes (361) 595-8565 on its own page and the county directory lists 361-595-8568 for the same court. The County Judge's office is 361-595-8585 |
| Fax | 361-593-1355, published by the County Clerk |
| Office hours | Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., per the clerk's own page (verified July 2026). The counter closes for the lunch hour, and the clerk publishes a standing offer around it: "THE OFFICE IS CLOSED DURING THE LUNCH HOUR. HOWEVER; WE WILL WORK WITH YOU AND SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT DURING THE TIME THAT IS CONVENIENT TO YOU, THE CUSTOMER, INCLUDING THE LUNCH HOUR." The clerk accepts cash, debit or credit card, money order or cashier's check |
| Filing fee | $360 to open a probate case. That figure is set by Texas statute and is the same in every county: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 133.151(a)(1)), amounts that took effect January 1, 2022 and were carried forward by amendment effective January 1, 2024. On top of that the clerk collects statutory per-service fees, including $8.00 to issue a citation (Local Government Code § 118.059) and $2.00 for each Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (§ 118.061), and the sheriff charges a service or posting fee set annually by the commissioners court (§ 118.131). Kleberg County's own published probate fee schedule totals $305.00 for an application to probate a will, but it itemizes from fee statutes that were repealed effective January 1, 2022 and its sheriff line matches the county's 2023 rate, so treat it as out of date and confirm the current total with the County Clerk |
| Local forms | None for probate. Texas has no comprehensive set of statewide probate procedure forms, and Kleberg County publishes no probate application, order, oath, inventory, cover sheet or small estate affidavit template of its own. The clerk's published forms are for vital records, marriage licenses and assumed names. The application, the proof of death and other facts, the proposed order, the oath and the inventory are drafted by you or your attorney |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys, available to everyone else. Attorneys must electronically file in probate cases in every Texas county under the Supreme Court of Texas order in Misc. Docket No. 13-9164 and Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1), which also provides that unrepresented parties may e-file but are not required to. Filing goes through eFileTexas.gov. Kleberg County publishes no e-filing notice, no county effective date and no local list of excluded documents, so a self-represented filer should call the County Clerk at 361-595-8548 and ask what the office will accept |
| Case search | The clerk points to one. Kleberg County's Online Records block lists "Criminal and Probate Records Search from September 1987 to Present" and links Texas Online Records, run by NET Data Corporation. The Kleberg County Clerk portal there is behind a login and registration wall and shows no coverage or fee statement to a visitor without an account, so ask the clerk what access costs and covers. The county's other portals, the Kofile quick links deed and oil and gas index books for 1845 to 1987 and the clerk's real property search from September 1987 forward, are LAND records and index deeds, not estates. Documents e-filed in a Kleberg probate case may also appear in 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 of the records |
| Remote appearance | Not published. Neither the County Court at Law nor the County Judge publishes a probate hearing calendar, a standing order or a telephone or video appearance rule, so plan on appearing in Kingsville and ask the County Clerk whether the assigned judge will allow anything else |
| Website | https://www.co.kleberg.tx.us/page/kleberg.County.Clerk (the Kleberg County Clerk, with the hours, the P.O. box, the fee schedules and the records links) and https://www.co.kleberg.tx.us/page/kleberg.County.Court (the County Court at Law). The county directory of office phone numbers is at https://www.co.kleberg.tx.us/page/kleberg.County.Directory |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Kingsville, 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 are identical in all 254 Texas counties; they are explained on the Texas state page. Getting the answer before your first filing matters here because Kleberg County publishes no probate instruction sheet, no local forms and no hearing calendar, so the counter and the assigned judge are where you will learn what is missing. A wrong route means starting over and paying the filing fee again.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of Kleberg 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 either county 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 Kleberg County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Kleberg County Courthouse at 700 E Kleberg Ave in Kingsville is the single probate filing location for the whole county. There is no branch, satellite or annex counter for estates, and the County Clerk, the County Court at Law and the County Judge are all in the same building. The courts serve every part of the county, including Kingsville and Riviera, for which the county publishes separate election precinct maps, and the rural areas between them. Because attorneys file electronically through eFileTexas.gov, most of the paperwork in an uncontested estate can be handled without a trip to Kingsville; the original will and the hearing are the parts that put you in the building.
Venue is straightforward for a Kleberg County resident: 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 Kleberg County, the case belongs here even if they died in a hospital in Corpus Christi. 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 on a Texas county this size. Kleberg County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Kleberg County (Government Code § 25.1391), and no statutory probate court, so the county court at law and the Kleberg County Court have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Estates Code § 32.002(b)). That grant is general law, not a Kleberg-specific provision: Government Code § 25.0003(d) gives a statutory county court, "concurrent with the county court, the probate jurisdiction provided by general law for county courts", and nothing in the county's own statute, Government Code § 25.1392, withholds probate from the County Court at Law of Kleberg County. Neither court is "the probate court" of Kleberg County, and the county does not publish which one takes estates in practice, so ask the County Clerk. What is settled is the counter: § 25.1392(f) makes the county clerk the clerk of the county court at law in every case except the felony matters listed in § 25.1392(a)(2), so an estate is opened with the Kleberg County Clerk.
If a matter in the proceeding becomes contested, the route in a county court at law county runs to the county court at law, not to a district court. Under Estates Code § 32.004(a), 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 may then hear the proceeding as if originally filed in that court, and if only the contested matter was transferred it is returned to the county court for further proceedings once it is resolved (§ 32.004(b)). The district court seated in Kleberg County is the 105th, which Government Code § 24.207 composes of Kenedy, Kleberg and Nueces counties and whose Kleberg County terms begin on the first Mondays in April and October. It is not where an estate is opened and it is not the destination for a contested Kleberg County probate matter.
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.
- Draft the papers yourself or with an attorney. Texas has no comprehensive set of statewide probate procedure forms and Kleberg 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, not fill-in forms. Ask the County Clerk at 361-595-8548 which of the county's two courts your application should be captioned for, because the County Court at Law of Kleberg County and the Kleberg County Court share original probate jurisdiction (Estates Code § 32.002(b)) and the county publishes no allocation rule.
- File with the Kleberg County Clerk, in person at the Kleberg County Courthouse, 700 E Kleberg Ave, Kingsville, or electronically through eFileTexas.gov. Attorneys must e-file in probate matters (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1); Supreme Court of Texas Misc. Docket No. 13-9164), and an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to. Kleberg County publishes no e-filing notice of its own, so if you are filing without a lawyer, call the clerk first and ask what the office will accept.
- Deliver the original will to the County Clerk within three business days. 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)), and the clerk must keep it in a numbered file folder (Rule 21(f)(13)). Take the wet-ink original to the County Clerk at 700 E Kleberg Ave, Kingsville, TX 78363. Kleberg County publishes no delivery instruction of its own, so call 361-595-8548 before posting an original will to the clerk's box.
- Pay the filing fee and the service charges. The base court filing fee is $360, fixed by statute for every Texas county: $223 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) plus $137 under § 133.151(a)(1). Add the clerk's statutory per-service fees, including $8.00 to issue a citation (§ 118.059), and the sheriff's charge for serving or posting it, which the commissioners court sets annually. The clerk accepts cash, debit or credit card, money order or cashier's check. 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.
- Let the clerk set the hearing. Kleberg County publishes no probate docket day, no self-scheduling portal and no filing-to-hearing window, so after your filing is accepted ask the County Clerk how the assigned court sets uncontested probate matters and what date is available. Do not assume a hearing day from another county.
- Have the citation issued and posted. In Texas the clerk issues citation on an application to probate a will or for letters and the sheriff posts it; nothing is heard until the posting period has run and the return is on file. The clerk's issuing fee is $8.00 (Local Government Code § 118.059) and the sheriff's posting and service charges come from the county's own annual schedule, which for 2025 prices a notice of public posting at $125.00 and service of a county court citation at $175.00.
- Attend the hearing in Kingsville. The county publishes no remote appearance rule for probate and no courtroom assignment, so plan to appear in person at the Kleberg County Courthouse and bring your proposed order, proposed oath, proposed proof of death and a copy of the death certificate unless the court tells you otherwise. Ask the County Clerk whether the assigned judge wants proposed documents filed in advance.
- 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). Each is $2.00 (Local Government Code § 118.061), so order enough sets for every bank, transfer agent and title company the estate has to deal with.
- Administer the estate and file what the statute requires. The steps that follow are set by state statute and apply the same way in every Texas county: notice to beneficiaries after an order admitting a will (§ 308.002), the published notice to creditors within one month of receiving letters (§ 308.051), notice to secured creditors within two months (§ 308.053), and the inventory, which must be filed with the court clerk before the 91st day after the personal representative qualifies unless the court grants longer (§ 309.051(a)), or the affidavit in lieu of it where the estate qualifies (§ 309.056). File them with the Kleberg County Clerk. Where the estate runs 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 Kleberg County
Kleberg County publishes no local probate forms. There is no county application to probate a will, no county order, no county oath, no county inventory form, no probate cover sheet and no county small estate affidavit template. The forms the County Clerk does publish are for vital records, marriage licenses and assumed names, and the county's probate-related documents are fee schedules rather than forms. Texas as a whole has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms either: the Texas Judicial Branch forms page carries 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), even though the Legislature directed it to in 2015 (Estates Code chapters 205 and 257).
In practice that means the application, the proof of death and other facts, the proposed order, the oath and the inventory in a Kleberg County estate are drafted documents. Because the county also publishes no instruction sheet and no allocation rule between its two courts, the two questions worth asking the County Clerk before you draft are which court to caption the application for and whether the assigned judge wants proposed documents filed ahead of the hearing. The one genuinely statewide procedural form a Kleberg 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 |
|---|---|
| Kleberg County Clerk (co.kleberg.tx.us) | The filing office for estates: the P.O. box, the counter hours with the lunch closure and the appointment offer, the payment methods, the staff email addresses, the fee schedules and the online records links |
| Kleberg County Clerk fee schedule (co.kleberg.tx.us) | The clerk's itemized fee schedule, including its probate case types. Read it for the structure of what a filing is made of, not for the totals: it itemizes from fee statutes repealed effective January 1, 2022, so its probate figures are below the current statutory base |
| Sheriffs' and constables' fees, 2025 Kleberg County (co.kleberg.tx.us) | The county's own service and posting charges for the year, set by the commissioners court under Local Government Code § 118.131, including a county court citation at $175.00, citation by publication at $150.00 and a notice of public posting at $125.00 |
| 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
Kleberg County publishes more fee detail than most counties its size, and it has to be read with one caution. The base court filing fee is fixed by statute and identical in all 254 Texas counties. The clerk's own itemized probate schedule is genuinely useful for seeing how a Texas filing is built up, but it prices its probate case types from fee statutes that were repealed effective January 1, 2022, so its totals are below what the clerk must now collect. The sheriff and constable schedules are current and dated by year. Confirm any figure with the County Clerk at 361-595-8548 before you write the check.
| Item | Amount | Authority or source |
|---|---|---|
| Opening a probate case | $360 | The statutory base fee, identical 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)). Both amounts took effect January 1, 2022 and were carried forward by amendment effective January 1, 2024 |
| Issuing a citation | $8.00 | The statutory issuing-document fee the county clerk must collect (Local Government Code § 118.059). Kleberg County's published schedule still shows $4.00 for a citation, which is a pre-2022 figure |
| Sheriff's service of a county court citation | $175.00 in 2025 | Kleberg County's own "2025 Kleberg County Fees" sheriffs' and constables' schedule, published by the County Clerk. The commissioners court sets these charges and must set them before October 1 each year to take effect the following January 1 (Local Government Code § 118.131(d)); the same sheet prices citation by publication at $150.00 |
| Sheriff's notice of public posting | $125.00 in 2025 | The same 2025 county schedule. The county's 2023 sheet priced both this and county court citation service at $105.00, which is the figure still built into the clerk's probate fee schedule |
| Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration | $2.00 each | The statutory per-document fee the county clerk collects (Local Government Code § 118.061). Order enough sets for every institution the estate deals with |
| County Judge's fee on probate orders | $2.00 per item | Local Government Code § 118.101, which the county's schedule cites and which remains current: $2.00 each for probate of a will, for granting letters, and for an order for which no other fee is prescribed |
| Claim against the estate | $10.00 | The statutory fee, payable by the claimant when the claim is filed (Local Government Code § 118.058). Kleberg County's schedule prints a $16.00 total for a claim, built with pre-2022 add-ons |
| Later contested or adverse probate action | $120 | $75 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(2) plus $45 under § 133.151(a)(2), for an action other than the original application, including an adverse probate action or a contest. Kleberg County's schedule shows $118.00 for an adverse action, again a pre-2022 build |
| Inventory filed late | $25.00 | There is NO clerk's fee for filing the inventory on time. The $25.00 fee applies only if the inventory and appraisement is filed after the 90th day after the personal representative qualified, or after any extended deadline the court sets (Local Government Code § 118.056(d)). Kleberg County's own schedule agrees: it heads the line "Inventory filed after 90 days" |
| Electronic filing charges | Set by the vendor, not by Kleberg County | Filing through eFileTexas.gov carries the electronic filing service provider's own charge and any card surcharge. The $30.00 electronic filing fee on the county's published schedule cites a Government Code provision that has been repealed; the statewide electronic filing system is now funded out of the $137 state consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 133.151) |
| 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)) |
Why the county's published probate totals cannot be relied on. The clerk's schedule prices an application to probate a will or for letters testamentary at $305.00, a muniment of title at $305.00 (Estates Code chapter 257), a small estate at $198.00 and a determination of heirship at $408.00. Each of those totals is added up from line items citing Government Code § 51.715, Government Code § 51.708, Government Code § 51.851, Local Government Code § 133.153 and Local Government Code § 118.064. Those provisions no longer exist or have been repealed. The Legislature consolidated Texas civil and probate court costs into the two fees above effective January 1, 2022, which is why the statutory minimum to open a probate case is now $360 (Local Government Code § 135.102) rather than the $305.00 the sheet shows. Use the schedule to understand the components and the county's own sheriff and judge charges, and get the current total from the clerk.
Local nuance
Kleberg County-specific considerations
Two courts, one counter, and the county does not say which court takes your case. Kleberg County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Kleberg County (Government Code § 25.1391), and it shares original probate jurisdiction with the Kleberg County Court, the constitutional county court (Estates Code § 32.002(b)). Neither court publishes a probate page, a docket, a standing order or a local rule, and the County Clerk's page does not say which court estates are assigned to. That makes one phone call to 361-595-8548 the first real step in a Kleberg County estate: ask how the office wants the application captioned. What is fixed by statute is that the county clerk, not the district clerk, is the clerk of the county court at law for probate (§ 25.1392(f)).
The counter closes for lunch, and the clerk offers to work around it. The published hours are 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the clerk adds a standing offer that is rare on a Texas county clerk's page: "THE OFFICE IS CLOSED DURING THE LUNCH HOUR. HOWEVER; WE WILL WORK WITH YOU AND SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT DURING THE TIME THAT IS CONVENIENT TO YOU, THE CUSTOMER, INCLUDING THE LUNCH HOUR." If you are driving in from out of town or taking time off work to hand over an original will, ask for the appointment. The clerk also publishes its payment methods, cash, debit or credit card, money order or cashier's check, and a separate appointment line, 361-595-8549.
The county's published probate fee schedule is out of date, and knowing why saves an argument at the counter. The clerk's itemized schedule prices probate of a will at $305.00 and builds that total from a clerk's new-suit fee, a court records preservation fee, an electronic filing fee, a basic civil legal services fee and a judge's training fee, citing Government Code §§ 51.715, 51.708 and 51.851 and Local Government Code §§ 133.153 and 118.064. Those provisions have since been repealed or replaced, the Legislature consolidated Texas civil and probate court costs into two fees effective January 1, 2022, and the statutory minimum to open a probate case is now $360 (a $223 local consolidated fee under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) plus a $137 state consolidated fee under § 133.151(a)(1)). Read the county sheet for its structure and its sheriff and judge charges, and take the total from the clerk.
The sheriff's charges are reset every year, and Kleberg publishes the sheets. Service and posting are what actually move the cost of a Kleberg County probate above the statutory base, and the commissioners court sets those fees annually: they must be set before October 1 to take effect the following January 1 (Local Government Code § 118.131(d)), and they may not be set higher than is necessary to pay the expenses of providing the service (§ 118.131(b)). The clerk's page posts the 2023, 2024 and 2025 schedules side by side, and the movement is real: a county court citation went from $105.00 in 2023 to $175.00 in 2025, and a notice of public posting from $105.00 to $125.00. Check the current year's sheet before you budget.
Kleberg does publish an online probate records search, which most counties this size do not. The clerk's Online Records block lists "Criminal and Probate Records Search from September 1987 to Present" and links Texas Online Records, run by NET Data Corporation. The Kleberg County Clerk portal there is behind a login and registration wall, and it publishes no coverage statement, no fee statement and no search form to a visitor without an account, so ask the clerk what an account gets you before relying on it. Do not confuse it with the county's land records: the Kofile quick links site holds deed and oil and gas index books for 1845 to 1987 and the clerk's real property search covers September 1987 forward, and both index deeds rather than estates.
Nothing local is published about hearings, so do not assume. There is no Kleberg County probate docket day, no published filing-to-hearing interval, no self-scheduling system, no courtroom assignment and no telephone or video appearance rule for probate. Plan on appearing in person at the Kleberg County Courthouse, and ask the County Clerk how the assigned court sets uncontested matters and whether it wants proposed orders filed in advance. If a matter becomes contested, the county judge may, and on a party's motion must, transfer the contested matter to the County Court at Law of Kleberg County, and may transfer the entire proceeding there (Estates Code § 32.004(a)); a transferred contested matter returns to the county court once it is resolved (§ 32.004(b)).
Recent updates
| Change | What it means in Kleberg County |
|---|---|
| Sheriff and constable fees for 2025 published | The County Clerk posts the county's "2025 Kleberg County Fees" sheriffs' and constables' schedule alongside the 2023 and 2024 versions. Service of a county court citation is $175.00 and a notice of public posting $125.00, against $105.00 for each in 2023. The commissioners court must set these charges before October 1 to take effect the following January 1 (Local Government Code § 118.131(d)), so check the current sheet before budgeting a probate filing |
| The clerk's published probate fee schedule predates the January 1, 2022 court cost consolidation | The itemized schedule on the County Clerk's page prices probate of a will at $305.00 using line items drawn from Government Code §§ 51.715, 51.708 and 51.851 and Local Government Code §§ 133.153 and 118.064, provisions that were repealed or replaced when Texas consolidated court costs. The statutory minimum to open a probate case is now $360, a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)). Confirm the total with the clerk rather than relying on the published sheet |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Kleberg County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Kingsville-area home 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 county court is involved in the house itself. Where other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse applies through the Kleberg County Clerk at 700 E Kleberg Ave; the case is heard by the County Court at Law of Kleberg County or by the Kleberg County Court, which share original probate jurisdiction (Estates Code § 32.002(b)), so ask the clerk how to caption it. The wet-ink original will must reach the clerk within three business days of an e-filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). Budget the $360 statutory filing fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) and § 133.151(a)(1)) plus the clerk's $8.00 citation fee and the sheriff's current posting or service charge. | Asset discovery to establish how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Kleberg County filing, including the drafted application, proof of death and proposed order the county does not supply. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be disputed. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Most of this can be done from out of state. Attorneys must e-file through eFileTexas.gov, and an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)); Kleberg County publishes no e-filing notice of its own, so call the County Clerk at 361-595-8548 before trying to file on paper or by mail. 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 you to Kingsville: the original will has to reach the clerk within three business days of the application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)), and the county publishes no remote appearance rule for probate, so plan on the hearing being in person. | 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. Attorney referral where an in-person hearing in Kingsville 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 Kleberg County Clerk, the clerk issues citation at $8.00 (Local Government Code § 118.059) and the sheriff posts or serves it at the county's current rate ($125.00 for a notice of public posting and $175.00 for service of a county court citation on the county's 2025 schedule), and 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 enough letters at $2.00 each (Local Government Code § 118.061), because the title company will want a recent set. The inventory follows, filed with the County Clerk before the 91st day after the representative qualifies (§ 309.051(a)). | 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 Kleberg County (Estates Code § 32.004). |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Kleberg County Clerk (co.kleberg.tx.us), 361-595-8548 | The filing office for estates in Kleberg County: the P.O. box, the counter hours with the lunch closure and the standing appointment offer, the payment methods, the fax number, the staff email addresses, the fee schedules and the records links. Clerk staff can explain procedure and what the counter needs, but cannot give legal advice |
| Kleberg County Court at Law (co.kleberg.tx.us), (361) 595-8565 | The county court at law that shares original probate jurisdiction with the Kleberg County Court (Estates Code § 32.002(b)) and the court a contested matter can be transferred to (§ 32.004). The page is a contact card: no probate docket, local rule or standing order is published |
| Kleberg County Judge (co.kleberg.tx.us), 361-595-8585 | The elected County Judge, who presides over the constitutional county court and who decides whether a contested matter is transferred to the county court at law (Estates Code § 32.004(a)) |
| Kleberg County Clerk fee schedule (co.kleberg.tx.us) | The clerk's itemized schedule, including its probate case types. Useful for the components of a filing; its probate totals predate the January 1, 2022 fee consolidation, so confirm amounts with the clerk |
| eFileTexas.gov | Registration for the statewide electronic filing system, the list of certified electronic filing service providers, and filing instructions. This is where a Kleberg County probate application is e-filed |
| Texas Online Records (texasonlinerecords.com) | The portal the Kleberg County Clerk links for its "Criminal and Probate Records Search from September 1987 to Present", run by NET Data Corporation. Access requires an account; ask the clerk what registration involves and what the records cover |
| 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 Kleberg 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, published by the Texas Judicial Branch |
| 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. Useful for orientation; it is not a court site and its materials are not court-approved forms |
| Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (trla.org), (956) 996-8752 or toll free (833) 329-8752 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. TRLA names Kleberg in its own 68-county service list, and its nearest offices are in Corpus Christi, at the Nueces County Courthouse, 901 Leopard St., Room 105, and at 555 N. Carancahua St., Suite 400. Phone lines are open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central. 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 of law libraries. It lists no law library in Kleberg County; the nearest listed is the Nueces County Honorable Noah O. Kennedy, Jr. Law Library, 901 Leopard Street, Room 601, Corpus Christi, (361) 888-0343. 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 Kleberg County estates are handled without a lawyer, and the County Clerk's counter is used to walking filers through procedure. 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. Three local factors weigh in favor of an attorney more than they would in a metro county. Kleberg County publishes no probate forms and no instruction sheet, so every document is drafted from scratch. The county does not publish which of its two courts hears estates, and captioning an application for the wrong court is an avoidable delay. And the contested-matter route is a live one: because Kleberg has a county court at law, the county judge may on the judge's own motion, and shall on the motion of any party, transfer a contested matter to the County Court at Law of Kleberg County, and may transfer the entire proceeding there (Estates Code § 32.004(a)). County Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Kleberg County and the surrounding South Texas counties.
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, Kleberg County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which route fits before anything is filed in Kingsville.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your estate settlement route, drafted from scratch because Kleberg County publishes no probate forms, ready to file with the Kleberg County Clerk at 700 E Kleberg Ave 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 Kleberg 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 Kleberg County?
With the Kleberg County Clerk at the Kleberg County Courthouse, 700 E Kleberg Ave, Kingsville, TX 78363, or by mail to P. O. Box 1327, Kingsville, TX 78364. The county clerk is the clerk of the county court and, for probate, of the county court at law: Government Code § 25.1392(f) makes the county clerk the clerk of the County Court at Law of Kleberg County in every case except the felony matters that statute lists. The Kleberg County District Clerk serves the 105th District Court and does not open estates. File in Kleberg County if the decedent lived here and had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (Estates Code § 33.001(a)(1)).
Which court hears probate in Kleberg County, the county court or the county court at law?
Both can. Kleberg County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Kleberg County (Government Code § 25.1391), and no statutory probate court, so that court and the Kleberg 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)). Neither is "the probate court" of Kleberg County, and the county does not publish which court estates are assigned to in practice, so call the County Clerk at 361-595-8548 and ask how to caption your application before you file.
Is e-filing required for probate in Kleberg County?
For attorneys, yes. Attorneys must electronically file in probate cases in every Texas county under the Supreme Court of Texas order in Misc. Docket No. 13-9164 and Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1), which also provides that unrepresented parties may e-file but are not required to. Filing goes through eFileTexas.gov. Kleberg County publishes no e-filing notice, no county effective date and no local list of excluded documents, so if you are filing without a lawyer, call the County Clerk at 361-595-8548 and ask what the office will accept on paper.
What do I do with the original will in Kleberg County?
You e-file the application with a copy of the will attached, then get the wet-ink original to the County 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 the clerk must retain it in a numbered file folder (Rule 21(f)(13)). There is no electronic way to satisfy this. Kleberg County publishes no delivery instruction of its own, so take the original to 700 E Kleberg Ave, Kingsville, or call 361-595-8548 first if you need to send it.
What are the Kleberg County Clerk's hours, and does the office close for lunch?
Yes, it closes for lunch. The clerk publishes hours of 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and adds a standing offer: "THE OFFICE IS CLOSED DURING THE LUNCH HOUR. HOWEVER; WE WILL WORK WITH YOU AND SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT DURING THE TIME THAT IS CONVENIENT TO YOU, THE CUSTOMER, INCLUDING THE LUNCH HOUR." If you are traveling in to file or to hand over an original will, ask for the appointment on 361-595-8548 or 361-595-8549. The office accepts cash, debit or credit card, money order or cashier's check.
How much does it cost to file probate in Kleberg County?
$360 to open the case. That is the statutory base fee and it is 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 effective January 1, 2022 and carried forward by amendment effective January 1, 2024. Add the clerk's $8.00 citation fee (§ 118.059), $2.00 for each set of letters (§ 118.061) and the sheriff's charge for posting or service, which on the county's 2025 schedule is $125.00 for a notice of public posting and $175.00 for service of a county court citation. Kleberg County's published probate fee schedule shows a lower total of $305.00, but it itemizes from fee statutes repealed effective January 1, 2022, so confirm the current figure with the County Clerk. A later contested or adverse probate action is $120 (§ 135.102(a)(2); § 133.151(a)(2)). There is no clerk's fee for filing the inventory on time: the $25.00 inventory fee on the county's schedule, which it heads "Inventory filed after 90 days", applies only to a late filing (Local Government Code § 118.056(d)). 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 Kleberg County?
No. Kleberg County publishes no probate application, order, oath, inventory form, cover sheet or small estate affidavit template; the clerk's published forms are for vital records, marriage licenses and assumed names. Texas has no comprehensive set of statewide 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 statewide form a filer here may need is the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145.
How do I look up a Kleberg County probate case online?
Start with the County Clerk's own Online Records block, which lists "Criminal and Probate Records Search from September 1987 to Present" and links Texas Online Records, run by NET Data Corporation. That portal is behind a login and registration wall and publishes no coverage or fee statement to a visitor without an account, so call the clerk at 361-595-8548 to ask what an account gets you. Documents e-filed in a Kleberg probate case may also appear in 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. The county's Kofile deed index books and its real property search are land records and index deeds, not estates.
What happens if someone contests the will in Kleberg County?
Because Kleberg County has a county court at law, the contest goes there, not to a district court. Under Estates Code § 32.004(a), 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 of Kleberg County may then hear the proceeding as if originally filed in that court, and if only the contested matter was transferred it is returned to the county court once it is resolved (§ 32.004(b)).
Do I have to travel to Kingsville to settle an estate in Kleberg County?
Probably once or twice. Kleberg County publishes no remote appearance rule for probate, so plan on the hearing being in person at the Kleberg County Courthouse, 700 E Kleberg Ave, and the original will has to reach the County Clerk within three business days of an e-filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). The rest can largely be done at a distance: applications are e-filed through eFileTexas.gov, mail goes to P. O. Box 1327, Kingsville, TX 78364, and questions go to 361-595-8548. The counter is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 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.