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Ochiltree County, TX Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The Ochiltree County Court, the constitutional county court, presided over by the elected County Judge, who need not be a lawyer. Because Ochiltree County has no statutory probate court and no county court at law, the county court has original jurisdiction of probate proceedings under the Texas Estates Code (§ 32.002(a)) |
| Filing office | The Ochiltree County Clerk, Sandra I. Limas, who is the clerk of the county court (Texas Constitution article V, § 20) and a separate office from the Ochiltree County District Clerk |
| Courthouse | Ochiltree County Courthouse, 511 S. Main Street, Suite #8, Perryton, TX 79070, per the County Clerk's own page |
| Mailing address | None separately published; mail to the street address above |
| Phone | (806) 435-8039, the Ochiltree County Clerk's own published line. Some third-party directories mislist a Dallas legal-aid office's number for this office; use the (806) number |
| Fax | (806) 435-2081 |
| [email protected], the County Clerk's own departmental mailbox | |
| Office hours | Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; open during lunch daily, per the County Clerk's own page (verified July 2026) |
| Filing fee | $360.00 to open a probate case, per the County Clerk's own fee schedule effective January 1, 2026: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)). The county's own schedule notes that, as of January 1, 2022, citation issuance, sheriff posting and the judge's signature are no longer bundled into the base filing and are itemized separately only where the case actually needs them. Confirm the current total with the County Clerk |
| Local forms | None. Texas has no comprehensive statewide set of probate procedure forms, and Ochiltree County publishes no probate application, order, oath or small estate affidavit template of its own |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys statewide since July 1, 2016 at the latest (Misc. Docket No. 13-9164; Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). The County Clerk's own page states: "We have an e-filing kiosk set up in the office for attorneys and the public to use." An unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to |
| Case search | No general online probate case search confirmed. Ochiltree County's own page states it "will not conduct searches that are not authorized by statute" and separately posts individual probate case citations online under a "Citations Posted" heading. Documents e-filed in an Ochiltree probate case may be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which requires free registration and charges for documents. Ask the County Clerk for a reliable answer |
| Remote appearance | Not published. Ask the County Clerk, (806) 435-8039 |
| Website | https://www.co.ochiltree.tx.us/page/ochiltree.County.Clerk (the Ochiltree County Clerk). The county's fee schedule is at https://www.co.ochiltree.tx.us/upload/page/7506/New%20Fees%20for%2001-01-2026%20Limas%20-%20NO%20STAFF%20CODES.pdf |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Perryton, 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 right before your first filing matters here because Ochiltree County publishes no probate forms of its own, so every document is drafted from scratch.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of Ochiltree 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 Ochiltree County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Ochiltree County Courthouse at 511 S. Main Street in Perryton is the single probate filing location for the whole county. There is no branch or satellite counter for estates: the County Clerk, whose office is separate from the District Clerk here, takes filings and the case is heard by the Ochiltree County Court. The court serves every part of the county, including Perryton and the surrounding Panhandle farm and ranch land.
Venue is straightforward for an Ochiltree 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)). 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 small Texas county. Ochiltree County has no statutory probate court and no county court at law (Government Code Chapter 25 has zero Ochiltree entries), so the Ochiltree County Court, the constitutional county court, has original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Estates Code § 32.002(a)), and the elected County Judge presides.
If a matter in the proceeding becomes contested, the case does not stay with the County Judge by default. Under Estates Code § 32.003(a), in a county with no statutory probate court and no 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, either request the assignment of a statutory probate court judge to hear the contested matter (Government Code § 25.0022) or transfer the contested matter to the district court, which may then hear it as if originally filed there. A party's motion for assignment of a statutory probate court judge beats a transfer: if it is filed before the county judge transfers the matter, the county judge shall grant it and may not transfer the case unless the motion is withdrawn (§ 32.003(b)). And the county court keeps the rest of the case: if only the contested matter is assigned out or transferred, the county court continues to exercise jurisdiction over the management of the estate until the contested matter is finally disposed of (§ 32.003(g)).
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 Ochiltree 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.
- E-file the application, either at the County Clerk's own e-filing kiosk in the office or through eFileTexas.gov; attorneys must e-file in probate matters statewide (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). An unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to.
- 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)). Take or send the wet-ink original to the County Clerk, 511 S. Main Street, Suite #8, Perryton, TX 79070.
- Pay the filing fee. The County Clerk's own schedule prices the base opening at $360.00, the statewide statutory figure, with citation issuance ($8.00), sheriff posting ($50.00) or service ($100.00) added only where the filing actually needs them. 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 issued and served or posted, where required. Ochiltree's own schedule prices issuing a citation at $8.00 (Local Government Code § 118.052(3)(A); § 118.059) and posting by the sheriff at $50.00 (§ 118.131). Nothing is heard until the posting or service period has run and the return is on file.
- Attend the hearing before the Ochiltree County Court. Ochiltree publishes no filing-to-hearing interval, docket day, or remote-appearance policy for probate; call the County Clerk to ask what to expect.
- 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). Ochiltree's fee schedule prices each set at $2.00 (Local Government Code § 118.052(3)(D)), 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. 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)), apply the same way in every Texas county. File them with the Ochiltree County Clerk. Ochiltree's own schedule confirms the $25.00 inventory fee is a LATE-FILING charge only, "charged after the 90th day personal representative qualifies or after extended deadline specified by the Court" (Local Government Code § 118.056(d)); a timely inventory carries no clerk fee. 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 Ochiltree County
Ochiltree County publishes no local probate forms. There is 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 § 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 an Ochiltree County estate are drafted documents.
What Ochiltree County does publish is a dollar-itemized fee schedule under the County Clerk's own name, revised periodically (the version read for this page is effective January 1, 2026), which is worth reading before you file, along with a statewide Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs that the County Clerk's own page links directly.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Ochiltree County Clerk's fee schedule (co.ochiltree.tx.us) | The county's own itemized fee document, including the $360.00 probate consolidated base, the separated citation/posting/service add-ons, letters, wills for safekeeping, and the late-only inventory fee |
| 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
Ochiltree County publishes its probate costs in a dollar-itemized fee schedule, and its own document explains a genuinely useful local wrinkle: since January 1, 2022, the base filing fee no longer automatically bundles a citation, a posting fee, or the judge's signature fee. Those are itemized and charged only where a particular filing actually needs them.
| Item | Amount | Authority or source |
|---|---|---|
| Opening a probate case (base, no citation, posting, or judge's signature bundled in) | $360.00 | Ochiltree County Clerk's fee schedule: the $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus the $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)); "No longer on initial filing: Issue Citation for Posting / Sheriff's Posting Fee / Judge's signature - as of 1/1/22" |
| Citation for posting or service | $8.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.052(3)(A); § 118.059 |
| Posting by sheriff | $50.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.131 |
| Service by sheriff or by certified mail | $100.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.131 |
| Judge's signature on an order | $2.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.101(11) |
| Letters Testamentary or Guardianship (each) | $2.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.052(3)(D) |
| Wills for safekeeping | $5.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.052(3)(E) |
| Inventory, appraisement and list of claims, filed on time | No fee | Local Government Code § 118.056(d) reaches only a late filing; Ochiltree's own schedule labels the $25.00 line item an "Inventory & Appraisement Late Fee" and notes it applies only "after the 90th day personal representative qualifies" |
| Inventory, appraisement and list of claims, filed after the 90th day | $27.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule: $25.00 filing fee (Local Government Code § 118.052(2)(A)(i); § 118.056(d)) plus $2.00 judge's signature |
| Annual or final account | $27.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule, Local Government Code § 118.052(2)(A)(iv), plus the $2.00 judge's signature |
| Claim against estate (paid by the claimant) | $10.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule; Local Government Code § 118.052(2)(B), as renumbered effective January 1, 2022; § 118.058 |
| Later contested or adverse probate action | $120.00 | Ochiltree's own schedule: $40 clerk plus $5 records management plus $20 court-initiated guardianship plus $10 public probate administrator (Local Government Code § 135.102(c)) plus $45 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(2)) |
| 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 $360.00 base is fixed by statute and identical in all 254 Texas counties. Confirm which add-ons apply to your specific filing with the Ochiltree County Clerk.
Recent updates
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Ochiltree County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Perryton-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 the county court is not involved in the house itself. Where other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse applies in the Ochiltree County Court, budgeting the $360.00 statutory base plus an $8.00 citation and a $50.00 posting fee where needed, per the County Clerk's own schedule, and delivers the wet-ink original will to the Clerk within three business days if the application is e-filed (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). | Asset discovery to establish how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Ochiltree County filing. 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, or use the County Clerk's own office e-filing kiosk; an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1). Two things still require a physical connection to Perryton: the original will must reach the County Clerk within three business days of an e-filed application, and any hearing is held at the courthouse, with no remote-appearance policy published. | 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 is accepted 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 in the Ochiltree County Court. The parent applies, pays the $360.00 base plus an $8.00 citation and a $50.00 posting fee where needed, and once appointed receives Letters of Administration (Estates Code § 306.002), or Letters Testamentary if there is a will (§ 306.001), at $2.00 each. The inventory follows, filed with the County Clerk before the 91st day after the representative qualifies (§ 309.051(a)), with no fee if it is timely under Ochiltree's own schedule. | 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 assigned to a statutory probate court judge or transferred to a district court (Estates Code § 32.003). |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Ochiltree County Clerk (co.ochiltree.tx.us), (806) 435-8039 | The filing office for estates in Ochiltree County: hours, the fee schedule, the e-filing kiosk, and posted probate citations. Clerk staff can explain procedure and what the counter needs, but cannot give legal advice |
| eFileTexas.gov | Registration for the statewide electronic filing system, the list of certified electronic filing service providers, and filing instructions. This is where an Ochiltree 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 Ochiltree 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 |
| 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, and named directly on the Ochiltree County Clerk's own self-help resources list. Useful for orientation; it is not a court site and its materials are not court-approved forms |
| Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas (legalaidtx.org), Legal Aid Line 1-888-529-5277 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income people in, in its own words, "the 114 counties we serve across North and West Texas", and named directly on the Ochiltree County Clerk's own "Self Help Resources" page as the office's legal-aid referral (the county lists the Dallas office at 1515 Main St.; the program's own locations page also lists an Amarillo office at 203 SW 8th Ave., Ste. 600, the closest to Perryton). Apply through the Legal Aid Line, and confirm it can take a decedent's estate matter before relying on it, since estates are not a headline practice area |
| 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, and named on the Ochiltree County Clerk's own self-help resources list. 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. No Ochiltree County law library is listed; contact a nearby 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 Ochiltree County estates are handled without a lawyer, especially with the County Clerk's own e-filing kiosk in the office to help self-represented filers get an application in. Counsel earns its keep 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. Ochiltree County publishes no probate forms at all, so every document is drafted from scratch, and the contested-matter route matters: if a matter becomes contested, the County Judge may on the judge's own motion, and shall on the motion of any party, request the assignment of a statutory probate court judge or transfer the contested matter to the district court (Estates Code § 32.003(a)), and a motion for assignment filed before a transfer must be granted (§ 32.003(b)), a timing point that is easy to miss without counsel. County Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Ochiltree 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, Ochiltree County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which estate settlement route fits before anything is filed in Perryton.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, ready to file with the Ochiltree County Clerk.
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 Ochiltree 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 Ochiltree County?
With the Ochiltree County Clerk at the Ochiltree County Courthouse, 511 S. Main Street, Suite #8, Perryton, TX 79070. The case is heard by the Ochiltree County Court, the constitutional county court, presided over by the elected County Judge, because Ochiltree County has no statutory probate court and no county court at law (Estates Code § 32.002(a)). File in Ochiltree County if the decedent lived here and had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (§ 33.001(a)(1)).
Is e-filing required for probate in Ochiltree County?
For attorneys, yes, statewide, since July 1, 2016 at the latest (Misc. Docket No. 13-9164). The County Clerk's own page also offers an e-filing kiosk in the office for attorneys and the public. 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 Ochiltree County?
Get the wet-ink original to the County Clerk within three business days of e-filing the application. 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)). Deliver or send it to 511 S. Main Street, Suite #8, Perryton, TX 79070.
How much does it cost to file probate in Ochiltree County?
$360.00 to open the case, which is the statewide statutory base fee: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)). Ochiltree's own schedule notes that since January 1, 2022, a citation ($8.00), sheriff posting ($50.00) or service ($100.00) are itemized separately and charged only where the filing needs them. Letters cost $2.00 each, and a later contested or adverse probate action is $120.00. 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 Ochiltree County?
No. Ochiltree County publishes no probate application, order, oath or small estate affidavit template, and Texas has no comprehensive statewide set of probate procedure forms either, so those documents are drafted by you or your attorney. The county does publish a detailed, dollar-itemized fee schedule and offers an in-office e-filing kiosk.
How do I look up an Ochiltree County probate case online?
No general online probate case search is confirmed. Ochiltree County's own page states it will not conduct unauthorized records searches, and separately posts individual probate case citations online. Documents e-filed in an Ochiltree probate case may be reachable through the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which requires free registration and charges for documents. For a definitive answer, call the Ochiltree County Clerk at (806) 435-8039.
What happens if someone contests the will in Ochiltree County?
The contest does not necessarily stay with the County Judge. In a county with no statutory probate court and no county court at law, 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, either request the assignment of a statutory probate court judge to hear the contested matter (Government Code § 25.0022) or transfer the contested matter to the district court, which may then hear it as if originally filed there (Estates Code § 32.003(a)). A party's motion for assignment beats a transfer: if it is filed first, the county judge shall grant it and may not transfer the matter unless the motion is withdrawn (§ 32.003(b)). Meanwhile the Ochiltree County Court continues to manage the rest of the estate (§ 32.003(g)).
Do I have to travel to Perryton to settle an estate?
For any hearing, most likely, since Ochiltree County publishes no remote-appearance policy for probate. Much of the rest can be handled at a distance: attorneys e-file through eFileTexas.gov, and questions go to the County Clerk at (806) 435-8039. The original will must still reach the Clerk within three business days of an e-filed application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). The counter is open Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 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.