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McMullen County, TX Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Two courts share concurrent original probate jurisdiction: the constitutional McMullen County Court and the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law, which McMullen shares with Bee and Live Oak Counties (Government Code Section 25.2703; Estates Code Section 32.002(b)). McMullen has no separate county-only statutory county court of its own, unlike Bee County. The shared court's judge is Harvey Hardwick, who sits at the Live Oak Justice Center in George West (Live Oak County), not in McMullen County itself (verified August 2026) |
| Filing office | The McMullen County Clerk, Mattie S. Martinez (named on the Clerk's own page, verified August 2026), who holds the combined title "County/District Clerk" because McMullen's population is far under the 8,000-resident threshold for a separate district clerk (Government Code Section 51.501). Filings for a McMullen County estate always go to the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden, never to Bee County, the shared court's administrative county (Government Code Section 25.2704(e)) |
| Courthouse | 501 River Street, Tilden, Texas 78072. The constitutional McMullen County Court sits in the same building; the shared 2nd Multicounty Court at Law sits at the Live Oak Justice Center, 200 Larry R Busby Drive, George West, TX 78022 |
| Mailing address | P.O. Box 235, Tilden, Texas 78072, for the County Clerk (the courthouse main office publishes a separate P.O. Box 237, Tilden, Texas 78072) |
| Phone | (361) 274-3215, the McMullen County Clerk. The courthouse's main line is (361) 274-3900. The shared 2nd Multicounty Court at Law's own office is (361) 268-5001 |
| Fax | (361) 274-3858, published by the County Clerk |
| Office hours | Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the courthouse hours the county posts sitewide, including on the County Clerk's own page (verified August 2026) |
| Filing fee | No county-published probate fee schedule was found. The base court filing fee to open a probate case is set by Texas statute and is the same in every county: $360, made up of a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code Section 135.102(a)(1)) and a $137 state consolidated fee (Section 133.151(a)(1)), amounts enacted by S.B. 41 effective January 1, 2022 and amended in place since. On top of that, the McMullen County Clerk collects statutory per-service fees, including $8.00 to issue a citation and $2.00 for each Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (Section 118.052), and the sheriff or constable charges a posting or service fee set by the commissioners court (Section 118.131). A later contested or adverse probate action is $120 (Sections 135.102(a)(2) and 133.151(a)(2)). Confirm the current total with the County Clerk before filing |
| Local forms | None published. Texas has no comprehensive statewide set of probate procedure forms, and McMullen County publishes no probate form library of its own |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys statewide since July 1, 2016 at the latest (the phase-in finished on that date for every Texas county); McMullen County publishes no county-specific e-filing notice of its own. Filing is through eFileTexas.gov. An unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)) |
| Case search | No county-run probate case search was found published on mcmullencounty.org. Documents e-filed in a McMullen probate case may be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which requires free registration, charges for documents, and states that it provides an unofficial copy; coverage is set county by county and McMullen's is not published, so ask the County Clerk |
| Remote appearance | Not published. McMullen County publishes no statement on remote or video appearance for probate hearings; ask the County Clerk at (361) 274-3215 |
| Website | https://mcmullencounty.org/county-clerk/ (the McMullen County Clerk) and https://mcmullencounty.org/county-court/ (the McMullen County Court) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Tilden, 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 the same in all 254 Texas counties; they are explained on the Texas state page. Getting the answer before your first filing matters here because McMullen County shares its statutory county court with two neighboring counties, and it is easy for a family to assume, wrongly, that they need to travel to Bee County to open the case.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of McMullen 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 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 McMullen County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The McMullen County Clerk's office at 501 River Street in Tilden is the probate filing location for the whole county. This is true no matter which of the two courts with concurrent probate jurisdiction ultimately hears the case: the McMullen County Clerk is the clerk of the McMullen County Court (Texas Constitution article V, Section 20) and, in probate matters, the clerk of the shared county court at law as well (Government Code Section 25.2704(e)), because probate is never a matter of concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts at the original-filing stage.
Venue is straightforward for a McMullen 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 Section 33.001(a)(1)). If the person lived in McMullen County, the case belongs in McMullen County, even if they died in a hospital in Corpus Christi or San Antonio. 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 (Section 33.001(a)(2)).
McMullen County has two courts with concurrent original probate jurisdiction, and getting this right matters more here than in most counties. Government Code Section 25.2703 gives Bee, Live Oak, and McMullen Counties a shared statutory county court, the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law; Section 25.2704(b) names Bee County as its administrative county. Under Estates Code Section 32.002(b) and Government Code Section 25.0003(d), that shared court and the constitutional McMullen County Court have concurrent original probate jurisdiction. But the administrative-county designation is purely about court finances and staffing; it does not mean a McMullen County reader files in Bee County. Section 25.2704(e) is explicit: "the county clerk serves as clerk of the county court at law in all other cases" besides matters of concurrent district-court jurisdiction, and a decedent's estate is always in that "all other cases" bucket. So a McMullen County probate filing always goes to the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden.
If a matter in the proceeding becomes contested, the mechanism follows the county-court-at-law rule rather than the constitutional-county-court rule, since McMullen has a statutory county court with probate jurisdiction available (Estates Code Section 32.004): 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, or the entire proceeding, to the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law.
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 statewide set of probate procedure forms, and McMullen 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.
- File with the McMullen County Clerk, 501 River Street, Tilden, TX 78072, or by mail to P.O. Box 235, Tilden, Texas 78072. Do this even though the county's shared statutory county court has its administrative seat in Bee County: probate filings stay with your own county clerk (Government Code Section 25.2704(e)). Attorneys must e-file in probate matters through eFileTexas.gov under the statewide mandate; an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). Call (361) 274-3215 to confirm what the Clerk accepts on paper.
- Deliver the original will to the County Clerk within three business days of an electronic filing. 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)).
- Pay the filing fee. The statewide statutory base is $360 ($223 under Local Government Code Section 135.102(a)(1) plus $137 under Section 133.151(a)(1), amounts enacted by S.B. 41 effective January 1, 2022 and amended in place since). McMullen County publishes no schedule of its own, so confirm the current total with the Clerk. 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 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, so build that into your timing.
- Attend the hearing. McMullen County publishes no hearing day, filing-to-hearing window or remote-appearance policy for probate, so confirm scheduling directly with the County Clerk once your application is on file; ask which of the two courts with concurrent jurisdiction is docketing your case.
- Collect the letters. On an admitted will the court grants Letters Testamentary to a qualifying executor (Estates Code Section 306.001); where there is no will, or no named executor qualifies, it grants Letters of Administration (Section 306.002). Order enough sets, at $2.00 each (Local Government Code Section 118.061), for every bank, transfer agent and title company the estate has to deal with.
- Administer the estate and file what the statute requires. Notice to beneficiaries after an order admitting a will (Section 308.002), published notice to creditors within one month of receiving letters (Section 308.051), notice to secured creditors within two months (Section 308.053), and the inventory, filed with the court clerk before the 91st day after the personal representative qualifies unless the court grants longer (Section 309.051(a)), are set by state statute and apply the same way in every Texas county. File them with the McMullen 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 McMullen County
McMullen County publishes no local probate forms: no county application to probate a will, 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 Section 22.020(b)(1) (Estates Code chapters 205 and 257). In practice this means the application, the proof of death and other facts, the proposed order, the oath and the inventory in a McMullen County estate are drafted documents.
The County Court's own page does publish a Motion to Reset form for unrepresented parties, notes that an Affidavit of Indigence may be filed with the County Clerk, and points readers to Texas Court Help. The one genuinely statewide procedural form a McMullen 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 |
|---|---|
| McMullen County Clerk (mcmullencounty.org) | The filing office for estates in McMullen County: address, mailing address, phone, fax, and hours |
| McMullen County Court (mcmullencounty.org) | The constitutional county court's own page, including a Motion to Reset form for unrepresented parties, a note that an Affidavit of Indigence may be filed with the County Clerk, and a reference to Texas Court Help |
| 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 |
Local nuance
McMullen County-specific considerations
File in McMullen County, never in Bee County. McMullen shares the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law with Bee and Live Oak Counties (Government Code Section 25.2703), and Bee County is that shared court's administrative county (Section 25.2704(b)). That designation covers the court's budget and staffing, not where a family files. Government Code Section 25.2704(e) puts probate filings squarely with the county clerk, and for a McMullen County estate that means the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden. Do not send a McMullen County reader's filing to Bee County.
One clerk holds two offices. Because McMullen County's population is far under the 8,000-resident threshold in Government Code Section 51.501, the county elects a single officer, Mattie S. Martinez, to serve as both County Clerk and District Clerk, titled "County/District Clerk" on the county's own site. Probate business still goes to the same office at 501 River Street.
The shared court's own judge and offices sit outside McMullen County. The 2nd Multicounty Court at Law's judge, Harvey Hardwick, and the court's administrative staff are reached through Bee County's own contact numbers, and the court's published address is the Live Oak Justice Center in George West, in Live Oak County, not in McMullen. Where a particular McMullen County matter will be heard is not published, so ask the County Clerk when your case is set; none of this changes where a McMullen County estate is filed, which remains the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden.
Two courts share jurisdiction, so the contested-matter rule is Section 32.004, not Section 32.003. Because McMullen County has access to a statutory county court with probate jurisdiction (the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law), a contested probate matter is transferred under Estates Code Section 32.004 rather than being assigned to a statutory probate judge or a district court under Section 32.003, which is the rule in a purely constitutional-county-court county.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in McMullen County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the 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 the court is not involved in the house itself. Where other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse files with the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden, not in Bee County, and pays the statewide $360 base fee (Local Government Code Sections 135.102(a)(1) and 133.151(a)(1)). | Asset discovery to establish how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the McMullen County filing, addressed correctly to the county's own Clerk. A vetted attorney referral if title or a claim turns out to be disputed. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Much 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)); call the McMullen County Clerk at (361) 274-3215 before trying to file on paper, and note that the filing goes to Tilden regardless of the shared court's administrative seat in Bee County. Whether a court filing is needed at all depends on the assets and whether there is a will, and those routes are statewide. The original will must still reach the County Clerk within three business days of an electronic application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)), and McMullen County publishes no remote-hearing option, so budget for at least one trip to the area. | Asset discovery to size the estate from out of state and confirm which route fits before anyone books a trip. Packet generation so the filing goes to the right clerk the first time. Attorney referral where an in-person hearing 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 filed with the McMullen County Clerk. The parent applies, citation is issued and posted, and at the hearing, held by either the McMullen County Court or the shared 2nd Multicounty Court at Law, the court appoints the personal representative and grants Letters of Administration (Estates Code Section 306.002), or Letters Testamentary if there is a will (Section 306.001), at $2.00 per set (Local Government Code Section 118.061). The inventory follows, filed with the County Clerk before the 91st day after the representative qualifies (Section 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 given the shared-court structure and its Section 32.004 contested-matter transfer route. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| McMullen County Clerk (mcmullencounty.org), (361) 274-3215 | The filing office for estates in McMullen County: the courthouse and mailing addresses, the fax number, and the 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. hours. Clerk staff can explain procedure and what the counter needs, but cannot give legal advice |
| McMullen County Court (mcmullencounty.org) | The constitutional county court's own page, including the Motion to Reset form, a note on filing an Affidavit of Indigence with the County Clerk, and a reference to Texas Court Help |
| 2nd Multi-County Court at Law (mcmullencounty.org) | McMullen County's own page for the shared court, naming Judge Harvey Hardwick and the court's own office at the Live Oak Justice Center in George West. Filings still go to the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden, not to this office |
| 2nd Multi-County Court at Law, Bee County's page (beecounty.gov) | Bee County's own page for the same shared court, corroborating the judge, administrator, and court reporter for the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law |
| eFileTexas.gov | Registration for the statewide electronic filing system, the list of certified electronic filing service providers, and filing instructions. This is where a McMullen County probate application is filed by an attorney |
| 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 McMullen 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, also referenced directly from the McMullen County Court's own 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. Useful for orientation; it is not a court site and its materials are not court-approved forms |
| Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (trla.org), (833) 329-8752 toll free | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. TRLA names McMullen County in its own 68-county service list. 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 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 |
| Government Code chapter 25 (tcss.legis.texas.gov) | The multicounty court provisions, Sections 25.2703 and 25.2704, including the clerk rule in Section 25.2704(e) that keeps probate filings with the county clerk |
When to hire an attorney
Plenty of uncontested McMullen County estates are handled without a lawyer. 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. McMullen County's shared-court structure is a genuine local wrinkle worth discussing with counsel: the county's probate matters can be heard by either the constitutional McMullen County Court or the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law shared with Bee and Live Oak Counties, a contested matter moves under Estates Code Section 32.004, and the shared court's own hearing location sits outside McMullen County entirely. County Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving McMullen County.
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, McMullen County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which route fits before anything is filed in Tilden.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, since McMullen County publishes no forms of its own, ready to file with the McMullen County Clerk, correctly addressed to Tilden rather than the shared court's administrative seat in Bee County.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested or otherwise calls for counsel during estate settlement, Sunset connects families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving McMullen 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 McMullen County?
With the McMullen County Clerk, 501 River Street, Tilden, TX 78072, or by mail to P.O. Box 235, Tilden, Texas 78072. File in McMullen County, not in Bee County, even though McMullen's shared statutory county court has its administrative seat in Bee County (Government Code Section 25.2704(b)); probate filings stay with your own county clerk under Section 25.2704(e). File in McMullen County if the decedent lived here and had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (Estates Code Section 33.001(a)(1)).
Do I have to file in Bee County because that is the administrative county for the shared court?
No. Bee County is only the administrative county for budgeting and staffing the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law, which McMullen shares with Bee and Live Oak Counties (Government Code Section 25.2704(b)). Government Code Section 25.2704(e) makes the county clerk, not the district clerk, the clerk of that court for probate and other non-concurrent-jurisdiction matters, so a McMullen County estate is always filed with the McMullen County Clerk in Tilden.
Which court hears probate cases in McMullen County?
Either the constitutional McMullen County Court or the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law, which McMullen shares with Bee and Live Oak Counties. Both have concurrent original probate jurisdiction (Estates Code Section 32.002(b); Government Code Section 25.0003(d)). The shared court's judge, Harvey Hardwick, and its hearing location, the Live Oak Justice Center in George West, sit outside McMullen County, but the filing counter for a McMullen County estate is still the McMullen County Clerk.
Is e-filing required for probate in McMullen County?
For attorneys, yes, under the statewide mandate that reached every Texas county by July 1, 2016 at the latest. McMullen County publishes no county-specific e-filing notice of its own. Filing goes through eFileTexas.gov. An unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)).
What do I do with the original will in McMullen County?
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)). Deliver or send it to the McMullen County Clerk, 501 River Street, Tilden, TX 78072, or P.O. Box 235, Tilden, Texas 78072. There is no electronic way to satisfy this rule.
How much does it cost to file probate in McMullen County?
The statewide statutory base is $360: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code Section 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (Section 133.151(a)(1)), amounts enacted by S.B. 41 effective January 1, 2022 and amended in place since. McMullen County publishes no fee schedule of its own, so confirm the current total with the County Clerk. 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 McMullen County?
No local application, order, oath or small estate affidavit template. Texas has no comprehensive statewide 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 County Court's own page does publish a Motion to Reset form for unrepresented parties and notes that an Affidavit of Indigence may be filed with the County Clerk.
What happens if someone contests the will in McMullen County?
Because McMullen has access to a statutory county court with probate jurisdiction, a contested matter follows Estates Code Section 32.004: 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, and may also transfer the entire proceeding, to the 2nd Multicounty Court at Law.
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.