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Polk County, TX Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | The County Court at Law of Polk County and the Polk County Court, sharing concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings under the Texas Estates Code (§ 32.002(b)) and Government Code § 25.0003(d). Government Code § 25.1891 provides that "Polk County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Polk County", and the county court at law's own page states that "Concurrent with the County Court, the County Court at Law hears Class A and B misdemeanors, appeals from Justice of the Peace and Municipal Courts, probate cases" and guardianships. The County Court at Law is presided over by Judge Tom Brown and the County Court by County Judge Sydney Murphy (verified August 2026) |
| Filing office | The Polk County Clerk, who is the clerk of the county court (Texas Constitution article V, § 20) and, for probate, of the county court at law. Government Code § 25.1892(e) splits the clerkship, giving the district clerk only the cases in which the county court at law shares jurisdiction with the district court and leaving the county clerk as clerk "in all other cases", which is where probate falls. The county confirms it: "The County Clerk serves as Clerk of the Court for the County Court at Law." The Polk County District Clerk serves the 258th and 411th District Courts and does not open estates |
| Courthouse | Polk County Judicial Center, 101 West Mill Street, Livingston, TX 77351. The County Clerk's counter is Suite 265, on the 2nd floor; the County Court at Law is Suite 157. Do not go to the Polk County Courthouse at 101 West Church Street, the historic courthouse, which is under restoration. The clerk also lists a Corrigan sub-office at 201 West Ben Franklin, 936-398-4222, and a separate Research Department at 410 East Church Street, Suite A, 936-327-6804; neither is published as a probate filing counter |
| Mailing address | Polk County Clerk, P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351, published on the clerk's own fee-schedule letterhead over the name of County Clerk Schelana Hock. Call before mailing an original will |
| Phone | 936-327-6805 for the Polk County Clerk, the office that takes probate filings. For hearing settings and court questions the county's Probate page directs you to the County Court at Law at 936-327-6856. The Research Department is 936-327-6804 |
| Fax | 936-327-6855 for the County Clerk's main office. The Research Department publishes a separate fax, 936-327-6874, for record search requests |
| Office hours | Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., published on the County Clerk's page and in the county directory (verified August 2026). No lunch closure is published for the clerk's counter. Note that some counters inside the office publish earlier cutoffs of their own, so call 936-327-6805 before arriving late in the day with a filing that has to be processed the same day |
| Filing fee | $360.00 to open a probate case, which is both the statewide statutory base fee and the figure Polk County publishes. The base is 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 are the same in every Texas county. Polk County's Probate page lists $360 for a probate of will, a muniment of title (Estates Code chapter 257), an administration, an heirship, a foreign will, a small estate and opening a safe deposit box, and $120 for an adverse action or counterclaim, and it adds "Prices does not include posting". The clerk's linked Probate Fee Schedule PDF is dated November 1, 2019 and is superseded; use the web page's list and confirm the total with the clerk |
| Local forms | No local decedent's estate forms. Texas has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms at state level, and Polk County publishes no county application to probate a will, no county order, no county oath and no county small estate affidavit template. What Polk does publish is a Court Setting Request Form for the County Court at Law, a set of guardianship accounting and reporting forms, a registry of court deposit form, an online probate document request form, and the statewide Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs in English and Spanish |
| E-filing | Mandatory for attorneys, permitted but not required for a person filing without a lawyer. Attorneys must electronically file in probate cases in every Texas county, and an unrepresented party may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). Filing goes through eFileTexas.gov, which the county's Probate page links. Polk County publishes no probate-specific electronic filing instructions of its own, so confirm with the County Clerk at 936-327-6805 what the office will accept on paper |
| Case search | No published online probate case search. The County Clerk runs an online records site with a case search and a property index, and publishes credentials for a free index search (username ccpublic, password public), but the county publishes no statement of which case types that index covers, and its Recording and Research page describes the same site as a subscription service for Official Public Records. For estate documents the reliable route is the clerk's own online Clerk Search request form for probate, which asks for the name of the estate and lets you request the application, the will, the order or Letters Testamentary. Documents e-filed in a Polk County probate case may also appear in the statewide re:SearchTX portal, which requires free registration, charges for documents, and states that it provides an unofficial copy and that the clerk of the court is the official custodian of the records |
| Remote appearance | Nothing published for probate hearings. The County Court at Law publishes one related rule, in its July 16, 2024 order on mediation: "agreements and defaults may be presented either by submission through efiling if everyone signs the agreement, or proved up in open court." Ask the court coordinator at 936-327-6856 before assuming a telephone or video appearance is available |
| Website | https://www.polktx.gov/306/County-Clerk (the Polk County Clerk), https://www.polktx.gov/310/Probate (the county's Probate page, with the current fee list) and https://www.polktx.gov/305/County-Court-at-Law (the County Court at Law, with the setting procedure and the local orders) |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before you file anything in Livingston, know what is actually in the estate and what it owes. Which Texas route fits, and whether a court filing 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 Polk County prices each type of case separately on its published probate fee list, and because a hearing is not scheduled until a completed setting request reaches the County Court at Law, so a wrong route costs you both the fee and the place in the queue.
Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of Polk County or out-of-county real property, along with every debt, before you apply. How each asset is titled decides whether it passes through the estate at all: survivorship accounts, accounts with a named beneficiary and land covered by a recorded transfer on death deed pass outside the estate and never reach the court. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for exactly this step, so that the application filed with the Polk County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Polk County Judicial Center at 101 West Mill Street in Livingston is the probate filing location for the whole county. The County Clerk takes filings in Suite 265 on the 2nd floor and the County Court at Law sits in Suite 157 of the same building. The court serves every part of the county, including Livingston, Onalaska, Corrigan, the Lake Livingston communities and the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation. The historic Polk County Courthouse at 101 West Church Street is a different building and is under restoration; the County Judge's office states that it is currently located in Suite E of the Regional Health Building and will return to the historic courthouse when the restoration is finished.
Venue is straightforward for an East Texas 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 Polk County, the case belongs here, even if they died in a hospital in Lufkin, Conroe or Houston. 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 a generic page gets wrong. Polk County has no statutory probate court. Government Code § 25.1891 provides that "Polk County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Polk County", and a statutory county court has, concurrent with the county court, the probate jurisdiction provided by general law for county courts (Government Code § 25.0003(d)). Nothing in Polk County's own statute takes that jurisdiction away: § 25.1892(a) gives the county court at law jurisdiction concurrent with the district court only in delinquent tax matters, family law cases and certain felony pretrial proceedings, and it contains no probate carve-out. So under Estates Code § 32.002(b) the County Court at Law of Polk County and the Polk County Court have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings. The county describes both roles itself: the county court at law's page says that "Concurrent with the County Court, the County Court at Law hears" probate cases and guardianships, and the County Judge's page says the County Judge "serves as Judge of the County Court, with judicial authority over probate matters, including guardianships and certain mental health proceedings". In practice the county routes probate scheduling to the County Court at Law at 936-327-6856.
If a matter in the proceeding becomes contested, the path here is a transfer between those two courts, not an assignment from outside the county. Under Estates Code § 32.004(a), in a county in which there is no statutory probate court but in which there is a county court at law exercising original probate jurisdiction, when a matter in a probate proceeding is contested the judge of the county court may, on the judge's own motion, or shall, on the motion of any party to the proceeding, transfer the contested matter to the county court at law, and the judge of the county court may also transfer the entire proceeding to the county court at law. Polk County adds a local step that matters more than the transfer rule for most families: the County Court at Law's order of July 16, 2024 states that "all contested issues, excluding criminal actions, are ordered to mediation before being set for hearing", so a contested probate matter in Polk County goes to mediation before it gets a hearing date.
The filing office does not change when a case moves between the two courts. Government Code § 25.1892(e) provides that "The district clerk serves as clerk of a county court at law in cases of concurrent jurisdiction with the district court, and the county clerk serves as clerk in all other cases." Probate is not one of the concurrent district-court subjects listed in § 25.1892(a), so it is one of the "all other cases" and the Polk County Clerk is the clerk throughout. The county states the same thing plainly on its Probate page: "The County Clerk serves as Clerk of the Court for the County 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 set of probate procedure forms at state level and Polk County publishes no application, order or oath of its own, so those documents, along with the proof of death and other facts and the inventory, are drafted rather than filled in. Polk County's published fee list prices each case type separately, which is a useful check that you are filing the right one: a probate of will, a muniment of title (Estates Code chapter 257), an administration, an heirship, a foreign will and a small estate are each listed at $360.
- File the application with the Polk County Clerk. Attorneys must file electronically in probate cases, through eFileTexas.gov, which the county's Probate page links. A person filing without a lawyer may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)); Polk County publishes no probate-specific electronic filing instructions, so call the County Clerk at 936-327-6805 to confirm what the counter will accept on paper. The counter is Suite 265 in the Polk County Judicial Center, 101 West Mill Street, Livingston, and mail goes to P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351.
- 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 the original will in a numbered file folder (Rule 21(f)(13)). Take or send the wet-ink original to Suite 265.
- Pay the filing fee. Polk County lists $360 to open a probate of will, an administration, an heirship, a muniment of title, a foreign will or a small estate, which is exactly the statewide statutory base of $223 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) plus $137 under § 133.151(a)(1). The county's list states that "Prices does not include posting", and it prices service separately: $8 to issue a citation, $90 for a sheriff's service fee and $90 for service by certified mail. 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, which the county publishes in English and Spanish.
- Have citation issued and served or posted. The clerk issues citation on an application to probate a will or for letters, and nothing is heard until the citation period has run and the return is on file. Polk County's fee list is the guide to which service method you are buying: $8 for the citation itself, $90 for personal service by the sheriff, $90 for certified mail service handled by the County Clerk.
- Request a hearing setting from the County Court at Law. Polk County does not schedule automatically. Its Court Setting Request Form must be completed in full and emailed to [email protected], and the county states that "A hearing date will not be given until the setting request form is received." The form asks for the cause number, the style, the type of hearing, whether it is uncontested, contested or default, and a realistic time estimate, and it requires the requestor to verify that the pleadings have already been filed with the clerk. The court then contacts the parties about available dates.
- Attend the hearing in Livingston. The County Court at Law publishes its blocks: cases are set as half a day, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., or a full day, with uncontested cases heard from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. The court is in Suite 157 of the Polk County Judicial Center. Nothing is published about telephone or video appearances in probate, so ask the court coordinator at 936-327-6856 if travel is a problem.
- 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). Polk County charges $2 each and states that "Letters Testamentary are always original issuances from the Clerk; no copies are made", and that only the executor, administrator, guardian or attorney of record can receive them. 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, including 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)), are set by state statute and apply the same way in every Texas county. File them with the Polk County Clerk. 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 Polk County
Polk County publishes no local forms for a decedent's estate. There is no county application to probate a will, no county proof of death and other facts, 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 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 statute directs it to (Estates Code chapters 205 and 257). In practice the application, the proof of death and other facts, the proposed order, the oath and the inventory in a Polk County estate are drafted documents.
What Polk County does publish is procedural rather than substantive, and two items are genuinely useful. The County Court at Law's Court Setting Request Form is the only way to get a hearing date: the county states that the form must be completed in full and emailed to [email protected] and that no date is given until it arrives. The County Clerk's online Clerk Search request form for probate is how you get documents out of a closed or pending file without going to the counter. The court also publishes a set of guardianship forms, which are for guardianships rather than decedents' estates: annual accounting, annual report, final accounting, final report, and orders approving the final accounting and the final report.
The one genuinely statewide procedural form a Polk County filer may need is the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145, which the county publishes in English and Spanish on its Probate page.
| Resource | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Court Setting Request Form (polktx.gov) | The County Court at Law's setting request form, emailed to [email protected]. It asks for the cause number, the style of the case, the type of hearing, whether the matter is uncontested, contested or default, and a realistic time estimate, and it requires the requestor to verify that the pleadings were filed with the clerk first. The county states that no hearing date is given until it is received |
| Clerk Search, probate document request (polktx.gov) | The County Clerk's online form for requesting probate documents by name of estate: the application, the will, the order, Letters Testamentary or another named document. Regular copies are $1 per page, certified copies $5 to certify plus $1 per page, and letters $2 each, with payment by mail or by phone. The clerk's office has up to 10 days to complete a request |
| Polk County probate page (polktx.gov) | The county's current probate fee list, the letters and safekeeping rules, the registry of court deposit form, the guardianship registration notice, and the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs in English and Spanish |
| Polk County Court at Law (polktx.gov) | The court's jurisdiction statement, the setting procedure and hearing blocks, its local orders including the July 16, 2024 mediation order, its attorney appointment lists, and its guardianship accounting and reporting forms |
| 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
Polk County publishes its own itemized probate fee list on the county's Probate page, and the figures match the statutory base exactly. One caution before you use any Polk County fee document: the Probate Fee Schedule PDF that the County Clerk's page links is headed "effective November 1, 2019" and prices a probate of will at $289.00, a pre-consolidation figure that was superseded when the consolidated filing fees took effect on January 1, 2022. The web page's list is the current one and is what is reproduced below (verified August 2026). Confirm any total with the County Clerk at 936-327-6805 before you file.
| Item | Amount | Authority or source |
|---|---|---|
| Probate of a will, administration, heirship, muniment of title, foreign will, small estate, or opening a safe deposit box | $360.00 each | Polk County's published probate fee list. This is also the statewide 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)), amounts that took effect January 1, 2022 |
| Adverse action or counterclaim | $120.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list, matching the statutory figure for an action other than the original application: $75 under Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(2) plus $45 under § 133.151(a)(2) |
| Posting | Not included | Polk County's fee list states "Prices does not include posting". The county does not publish a separate posting figure, so ask the County Clerk what posting will cost in your case. Sheriff and constable service and posting charges are set by the commissioners court, which may not set them higher than is necessary to pay the expenses of providing the service (Local Government Code § 118.131) |
| Issue citation | $8.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list. It matches the statutory fee a county clerk collects for issuing a document (Local Government Code § 118.059) |
| Sheriff's service fee, or service by certified mail | $90.00 each | Polk County's published probate fee list. Service charges are set by the commissioners court under Local Government Code § 118.131 |
| Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration or Letters of Guardianship | $2.00 each | Polk County's published probate fee list, citing Local Government Code § 118.061. The county adds that letters "are always original issuances from the Clerk; no copies are made" and that only the executor, administrator, guardian or attorney of record may receive them |
| Claim against the estate | $10.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list, citing Local Government Code § 118.058. It is payable by the claimant |
| Application for sale of real property in an existing case, posting included | $65.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list |
| Jury fee | $40.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list, on three to four weeks' notice |
| Judge's signature | $2.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list |
| Safekeeping of a will deposited before death | $16.00 published by the county | Polk County's published probate fee list, which invites you to "refer to the Texas Estates Code, Chapter 252". Note that the statutory deposit and safekeeping fee is $5.00 (Local Government Code § 118.062; Estates Code § 252.001(b)), so ask the clerk what the published figure covers |
| Probate name search | $5.00 | Polk County's published probate fee list. The clerk's general search fee is also $5.00 per search, and the office has up to 10 days to complete a records request |
| Copies | $1.00 per page, or $5.00 to certify plus $1.00 per page | The County Clerk's own research fee list and its online probate document request form |
| Late filing of the inventory | $25.00, and only if it is late | Polk County's list labels this "Late Filing of Inventory" and notes the inventory is due three months after appointment. The statute agrees: the fee applies only where the instrument is filed after the 90th day after the representative qualified, or after any extended deadline the court sets (Local Government Code § 118.056(d)). A timely inventory, or a timely affidavit in lieu of it, carries no clerk filing fee |
| Accounts and later filings in a pending estate | $25.00 for an annual account; $65.00 for a final account, an amended final account or a final report; $25.00 for a filing after the inventory is approved | Polk County's published probate fee list. These are not up-front costs: under Local Government Code § 118.056(a) and (b) the services-in-a-pending-probate-action fees apply only after the order approving the inventory or the 120th day after the initial filing, whichever comes first |
| Electronic filing charges | Set by the vendor, not by Polk County | Filing through eFileTexas.gov carries the electronic filing service provider's own charge and any card surcharge, on top of the court costs above. Polk County publishes no county electronic filing fee of its own |
| If you cannot afford the fee | No cost | File a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, the statewide form required by Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145, which Polk County publishes in English and Spanish. The court must waive the electronic filing fee for a person it determines is indigent (Government Code § 72.031(f)) |
Two cautions. The base $360.00 is fixed by statute and is the same in all 254 Texas counties, so a Texas figure materially above it is either a total that includes citation, service, posting or publication items or is out of date. And a card payment to Polk County carries a transaction fee: the County Clerk publishes 2.40 percent or a minimum of $2 per transaction on credit and debit card payments.
Timeline
- File the application with the Polk County Clerk, with the fee. If the application was e-filed and asks to probate an original will, the wet-ink original must reach the clerk within three business days (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)).
- Have citation issued and served or posted. Polk County prices these separately from the filing fee and states that its listed prices do not include posting.
- Email a completed Court Setting Request Form to [email protected]. Polk County states that "A hearing date will not be given until the setting request form is received", and the form itself requires the requestor to verify that the pleadings were filed with the clerk before the setting is requested.
- Wait for the court to come back with dates. The setting form states: "The Court will contact parties about available dates after we receive the setting request." Polk County publishes no filing-to-hearing interval, so ask the court coordinator at 936-327-6856 what the calendar looks like rather than assuming one.
- Attend at the time the court sets. Settings are half a day, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., or a full day, and uncontested cases are heard from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., in Suite 157 of the Polk County Judicial Center.
- If a matter becomes contested, expect mediation before a hearing date. The County Court at Law's order of July 16, 2024 states that "all contested issues, excluding criminal actions, are ordered to mediation before being set for hearing", with temporary orders handled case by case. Contested probate matters may also be transferred from the Polk County Court to the county court at law (Estates Code § 32.004).
Local nuance
Polk County-specific considerations
Two courts share the probate docket, and the county says so from both sides. Polk County has one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Polk County (Government Code § 25.1891), and it takes the probate jurisdiction that general law gives every statutory county court, concurrent with the constitutional county court (Government Code § 25.0003(d); Estates Code § 32.002(b)). The county court at law's page states that "Concurrent with the County Court, the County Court at Law hears" probate cases and guardianships, and the County Judge's page states that the County Judge "serves as Judge of the County Court, with judicial authority over probate matters". Do not caption a Polk County estate as though the county had a probate court, and do not assume the county court at law has displaced the County Judge: § 25.1892(a), which sets out this county court at law's extra jurisdiction, covers delinquent taxes, family law and certain felony pretrial matters, and creates no probate carve-out in either direction.
You have to ask for a hearing date, in writing, in a specific way. This is the Polk County step that most often surprises a filer from a bigger county. The Court Setting Request Form has to be completed in full and emailed to [email protected], and the county states plainly that "A hearing date will not be given until the setting request form is received." The form makes the requestor verify that the pleadings were filed with the clerk first, and asks for a realistic time estimate for all parties. The court then contacts the parties about available dates. Settings run in blocks: half a day from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., or a full day, with uncontested cases heard from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Contested matters go to mediation before they get a hearing. On July 16, 2024 the judge of the County Court at Law issued a written rule to all attorneys practicing in the court: "Effective immediately, all contested issues, excluding criminal actions, are ordered to mediation before being set for hearing." The same document explains why, in the court's own words: "The growth of the caseload of this court, and the increasing contentiousness of the cases, have created an unacceptable delay in settings cases." Temporary orders and temporary injunctions are handled case by case. It also records the one published alternative to appearing: "agreements and defaults may be presented either by submission through efiling if everyone signs the agreement, or proved up in open court." For a Polk County estate, that means an agreed matter may be capable of being resolved on paper, while a genuinely contested one should be budgeted for mediation before a hearing date exists.
The clerk's linked probate fee PDF is out of date and the web page is not. The County Clerk's page links a Probate Fee Schedule PDF headed "effective November 1, 2019", which prices a probate of will at $289.00, and a Civil Fee Schedule PDF headed "effective September 1, 2017". Those predate the consolidated filing fees that took effect on January 1, 2022. The county's Probate page carries the current list, with $360 to open a case and $120 for an adverse action, matching the statute (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) and § 133.151(a)(1)). Use the web page, and confirm with the clerk.
Go to the Judicial Center, not the courthouse. The County Clerk's probate counter is Suite 265, on the 2nd floor of the Polk County Judicial Center at 101 West Mill Street, and the County Court at Law is Suite 157 in the same building. The Polk County Courthouse at 101 West Church Street is the historic courthouse and is under restoration; the County Judge's office states that it is temporarily in Suite E of the Regional Health Building and will return to the historic courthouse when the work is done. The clerk also lists a Corrigan sub-office at 201 West Ben Franklin, 936-398-4222, and a Research Department at 410 East Church Street, Suite A, 936-327-6804, but neither is published as a probate filing counter.
Probate records come from the clerk, not from a public case portal. Polk County publishes no probate case search as such. The County Clerk runs an online records site with a case search and a property index and publishes free index-search credentials on its own page (username ccpublic, password public), but the county publishes no statement of which case types the index covers, and its Recording and Research page describes the same site as a subscription service for Official Public Records. The dependable route to an estate document is the clerk's online Clerk Search request form for probate, which asks for the name of the estate and lets you order the application, the will, the order or Letters Testamentary, with the office allowed up to 10 days to respond.
Recent updates
| Change | What it means in Polk County |
|---|---|
| Mandatory mediation for contested matters, effective July 16, 2024 | The judge of the County Court at Law issued a written rule to all attorneys practicing in the court: "Effective immediately, all contested issues, excluding criminal actions, are ordered to mediation before being set for hearing." Temporary orders and temporary injunctions are handled case by case. A contested probate matter in Polk County therefore reaches mediation before it reaches a hearing date |
| Historic courthouse restoration, County Judge's office relocated | The County Judge's office states that it "is currently located in Suite E of the Regional Health Building and will return to its historic home in the Polk County Historic Courthouse in Livingston upon completion of the ongoing restoration project." Probate filings are unaffected: the County Clerk's counter and the County Court at Law are both in the Polk County Judicial Center at 101 West Mill Street |
| The clerk's linked probate fee schedule PDF is superseded | The Probate Fee Schedule PDF linked from the County Clerk's page is headed "effective November 1, 2019" and prices a probate of will at $289.00, which predates the consolidated filing fees that took effect January 1, 2022. The county's Probate page carries the current list, at $360 to open a case and $120 for an adverse action (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) and § 133.151(a)(1)) |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Polk County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | If the Livingston-area or Lake Livingston 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 neither court is involved in the house itself. Where other assets stood in the decedent's sole name, the spouse applies through the Polk County Clerk in Suite 265, and the case is heard by the County Court at Law of Polk County or the Polk County Court, which share concurrent original probate jurisdiction (Estates Code § 32.002(b)). Budget $360 to open the case (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1) and § 133.151(a)(1)) plus $8 for the citation and $90 for service, and remember that the county's prices do not include posting. If the application is e-filed, the wet-ink original will has to reach the clerk within three business days (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)). Then email the Court Setting Request Form to [email protected], because no date is given until it arrives. | Asset discovery to establish how the home and the accounts are titled and what actually has to reach the court. Packet generation for the Polk County filing, including the case-type choice the county's own fee list turns on. 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 handled 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)); Polk County publishes no probate-specific electronic filing instructions, so call the County Clerk at 936-327-6805 before trying to file on paper, and mail goes to P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351. 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 Livingston: an original will must reach the clerk within three business days of the application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)), and the County Court at Law publishes no remote appearance rule for probate, though its July 2024 order notes that agreements and defaults may be presented by submission through electronic filing if everyone signs. | Asset discovery to size the estate from a distance and confirm which route fits before anyone books a flight. Packet generation so the filing is accepted the first time. Attorney referral where a hearing in Livingston 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 runs as an administration. The parent applies through the Polk County Clerk, pays the $360 opening fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus citation and service, requests a setting by emailing the Court Setting Request Form to [email protected], 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). Letters are $2 each and the county issues originals only, so order enough for the title company. The inventory follows, filed with the County Clerk before the 91st day after the representative qualifies (§ 309.051(a)); Polk County charges nothing to file it on time and $25 only if it is late. A sale of real property in an existing case is a further $65 filing under the county's list. If the heirs disagree, expect mediation before a hearing date under the court's July 16, 2024 order. | 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 (Estates Code § 32.004) and must go to mediation before it is set. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Polk County Clerk (polktx.gov), 936-327-6805 | The filing office for estates in Polk County: the Suite 265 address in the Polk County Judicial Center, the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours, the fax and mailing details, the fee schedules and the clerk's record search tools. Clerk staff can explain procedure and what the counter needs, but cannot give legal advice |
| Polk County probate page (polktx.gov) | The county's current probate fee list, the rules on letters and on depositing a will for safekeeping, the registry of court deposit form, and the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs in English and Spanish |
| County Court at Law of Polk County (polktx.gov), 936-327-6856 | The court that hears probate concurrently with the Polk County Court: its jurisdiction statement, the Court Setting Request Form and the email address it must go to, the hearing blocks, the July 16, 2024 mediation order and the attorney appointment lists |
| Clerk Search, probate document request (polktx.gov) | The clerk's online form for ordering probate documents by name of estate, with the copy and certification prices and payment options. The office has up to 10 days to complete a request |
| eFileTexas.gov | Registration for the statewide electronic filing system, the list of certified electronic filing service providers, and filing instructions. This is where a Polk County probate application is e-filed |
| re:SearchTX (research.txcourts.gov) | The statewide court records portal, run by the Office of Court Administration with Tyler Technologies, and the portal the county links from its own site. 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 Polk 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. Polk County links this site from its own court pages as self-help resources |
| 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. Polk County links it from both its probate page and its community resources list. Useful for orientation; it is not a court site and its materials are not court-approved forms |
| Lone Star Legal Aid (lonestarlegal.org), 1-800-733-8394 | Free civil legal help for eligible low-income residents. Lone Star Legal Aid serves Polk County and the county links it from its own resources list, but the Conroe office that covered Polk has closed, so apply through the online intake or the toll-free line. Confirm it can take a decedent's estate matter before relying on it |
| State Bar of Texas Lawyer Referral and Information Service (texasbar.com), (800) 252-9690 | Referrals to Texas attorneys, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central, Spanish spoken. The initial consultation is capped at $20 for 30 minutes. It is a referral service, not a reduced-fee or pro bono program |
| Texas law libraries directory (guides.sll.texas.gov) | The Texas State Law Library's curated directory of law libraries. It lists no law library in Polk County; the nearest listed are the Liberty County Law Library, 1915 Trinity Street, Liberty, (936) 336-4610, and the Montgomery County Law Library, 301 North Thompson, Suite 105, Conroe, (936) 539-7960. 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 Polk County estates are handled without a lawyer, and the County Clerk's counter will tell you what a filing needs. 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. Three local factors weigh in favor of an attorney more than they would elsewhere. First, Polk County publishes no decedent's estate forms, so every document is drafted from scratch. Second, the County Court at Law's setting procedure is written for attorneys: the Court Setting Request Form asks the requestor to certify that they have conferred or attempted to confer in good faith with opposing counsel and to give a realistic time estimate, and no date is issued until the form is in. Third, the court's July 16, 2024 order sends all contested issues to mediation before they are set for hearing, and a contested probate matter can also be transferred from the Polk County Court to the county court at law (Estates Code § 32.004), so the strategy questions arrive early. County Clerk staff can explain procedure but cannot give legal advice. Sunset can connect families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Polk County and the surrounding East Texas counties.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and public records to identify bank and credit union accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Polk County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which estate settlement route fits before anything is filed in Livingston.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, matched to the case type Polk County's own fee list prices and ready to file with the Polk County Clerk in Suite 265 of the Judicial Center.
Find a local probate attorney. When a matter is contested, and so headed for mediation before it is set for hearing, or otherwise calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted Texas probate attorney serving Polk 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 Polk County?
With the Polk County Clerk in Suite 265 of the Polk County Judicial Center, 101 West Mill Street, Livingston, TX 77351, or by mail to P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351. The case is heard by the County Court at Law of Polk County or by the Polk County Court, which have concurrent original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Estates Code § 32.002(b)). File in Polk County if the decedent lived here and had a domicile or fixed place of residence in Texas (§ 33.001(a)(1)). Do not go to the historic courthouse at 101 West Church Street, which is under restoration.
Which court hears probate in Polk County, the county court or the county court at law?
Both can. Government Code § 25.1891 gives Polk County one statutory county court, the County Court at Law of Polk County, and a statutory county court has the probate jurisdiction of a county court concurrent with the constitutional county court (Government Code § 25.0003(d); Estates Code § 32.002(b)). Polk County's own statute, § 25.1892, creates no probate exception. The county describes both: its county court at law page says that "Concurrent with the County Court, the County Court at Law hears" probate cases and guardianships, and its County Judge page says the County Judge sits as Judge of the County Court with authority over probate matters. Scheduling in practice runs through the County Court at Law at 936-327-6856.
Is e-filing required for probate in Polk County?
For attorneys, yes. Attorneys must electronically file in probate cases in every Texas county, and filing goes through eFileTexas.gov, which the county's probate page links. A person filing without a lawyer may e-file but is not required to (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)). Polk County publishes no probate-specific electronic filing instructions of its own, so if you are filing without an attorney, call the County Clerk at 936-327-6805 and ask what the office will accept.
What do I do with the original will in Polk County?
You file a copy with the application and 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)). Deliver or send it to the Polk County Clerk, Suite 265, 101 West Mill Street, Livingston, TX 77351, or P.O. Drawer 2119. There is no electronic way to satisfy this.
How do I get a probate hearing date in Polk County?
You ask for one in writing. The County Court at Law's Court Setting Request Form has to be completed in full and emailed to [email protected], and the county states that "A hearing date will not be given until the setting request form is received." The form asks for the cause number, the style, the type of hearing, whether the matter is uncontested, contested or default, and a realistic time estimate, and it requires you to verify that the pleadings were already filed with the clerk. The court then contacts the parties about available dates. Settings are half a day, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., or a full day, and uncontested cases are heard from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. The county publishes no filing-to-hearing interval, so ask the court coordinator at 936-327-6856.
How much does it cost to file probate in Polk County?
$360 to open a case, which is both Polk County's published figure and the statewide statutory base: a $223 local consolidated fee (Local Government Code § 135.102(a)(1)) plus a $137 state consolidated fee (§ 133.151(a)(1)), amounts that took effect January 1, 2022. The county lists the same $360 for a probate of will, an administration, an heirship, a muniment of title (Estates Code chapter 257), a foreign will, a small estate and opening a safe deposit box, and $120 for an adverse action or counterclaim, and it states that its prices do not include posting. Add $8 to issue a citation, $90 for sheriff's service or certified mail service, and $2 for each set of letters. Ignore the clerk's linked Probate Fee Schedule PDF, which is dated November 1, 2019 and prices a probate at $289.00. If you cannot afford the cost, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145), which the county publishes in English and Spanish.
Are there local probate forms in Polk County?
Not for a decedent's estate. Polk County publishes no county application, order, oath or small estate affidavit template, and Texas has no comprehensive set of probate procedure forms at state level either, so those documents are drafted. What the county does publish is the County Court at Law's Court Setting Request Form, the County Clerk's online probate document request form, a registry of court deposit form, a set of guardianship accounting and reporting forms, and the statewide Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs in English and Spanish.
How do I look up a Polk County probate case or get a copy of a document?
Ask the clerk. Polk County publishes no probate case search as such: the County Clerk's online records site offers a case search and a property index behind a login, and the clerk's page publishes free index-search credentials (username ccpublic, password public), but the county publishes no statement of which case types the index covers and its Recording and Research page describes the same site as a subscription service for Official Public Records. For documents, use the clerk's online Clerk Search request form for probate: you give the name of the estate and request the application, the will, the order or Letters Testamentary, at $1 per page, $5 to certify plus $1 per page, or $2 for each set of letters. The office has up to 10 days to complete a request. Anything e-filed may also appear in re:SearchTX, which requires free registration, charges for documents and provides only unofficial copies.
What happens if someone contests the will in Polk County?
Two things, and the local one usually bites first. Under Estates Code § 32.004, when a matter in a probate proceeding is contested the judge of the county court may, on the judge's own motion, or shall, on the motion of any party, transfer the contested matter to the county court at law, and may transfer the entire proceeding there. Separately, the County Court at Law's own order of July 16, 2024 provides that "all contested issues, excluding criminal actions, are ordered to mediation before being set for hearing", with temporary orders handled case by case, because, in the court's words, caseload growth and increasing contentiousness "have created an unacceptable delay in settings cases". So a contested Polk County estate should be planned around mediation, not around an early hearing date.
Do I have to travel to Livingston to settle an estate in Polk County?
Some of it, probably. Applications can be e-filed through eFileTexas.gov, settings are requested by email to [email protected], documents can be ordered through the clerk's online request form, and mail goes to P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351. But an original will has to reach the County Clerk within three business days of the application (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(12)), and Polk County publishes no remote appearance rule for probate hearings. The one published alternative is in the court's July 2024 order: agreements and defaults may be presented by submission through electronic filing if everyone signs, or proved up in open court. The clerk's counter is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 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.