Swisher County, TX Probate Information

Before you file anything in Tulia, 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 because Swisher County publishes no fill-in probate forms of its own, so every application, order and oath is a drafted document.

Identify every bank and credit union account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, vehicle and parcel of Swisher 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 Swisher County Clerk describes the estate accurately the first time.

The Swisher County Courthouse at 119 S. Maxwell Ave in Tulia is the single probate filing location for the whole county. There is no branch or satellite counter for estates. The court serves every part of the county, and because attorneys file electronically through eFileTexas.gov, most of the paperwork in an uncontested estate does not require a trip to Tulia beyond delivering an original will.

Venue is straightforward for a Swisher 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)).

Swisher County has no statutory probate court and no county court at law, so the Swisher County Court, the constitutional county court, has original jurisdiction of probate proceedings (Estates Code § 32.002(a)), and the elected County Judge presides. The county's 64th and 242nd District Courts also sit in Swisher County but do not open estates.

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 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 County Clerk's office is also the District Clerk's office. Swisher County's own clerk site is titled "Swisher County & District Clerk," and the same officer, C.J. Chasco, holds both roles. A joint district-and-county clerk is common in smaller Texas counties (Government Code § 51.501 provides for one unless the voters keep the offices separate), but a probate matter still belongs on the County Clerk side of the office and is heard by the Swisher County Court, not sent to a district court, because original probate jurisdiction lies with the county court (Estates Code § 32.002(a)); a district court reaches the case only on a § 32.003 transfer of a contested matter.

E-filing in Swisher County is described as mandatory across the board. The clerk's own e-filing page states, without carving out an exception: "E-Filing is MANDATORY in Civil, Criminal, Family, and Probate cases." That statement covers attorneys; the statewide rule still lets an unrepresented party e-file without requiring it (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21(f)(1)), so a self-represented filer should call the office at 806-995-3294 or 806-995-4396 before assuming either way.

There is no fax line. Where the county homepage's general contact block lists a fax number, the clerk's own dedicated site says plainly "NO FAX AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME." Do not try to fax a filing to the office; use eFileTexas.gov or bring the document in.

One court, one counter, and the district courts only enter the picture on a contest. Swisher County has no statutory probate court and no county court at law, so the Swisher County Court hears the estate (Estates Code § 32.002(a)) and the County Clerk takes the filing. The 64th and 242nd District Courts sit in the same county but do not open estates; a district court reaches a Swisher probate matter only if the County Judge transfers a contested matter to it under § 32.003(a)(2), and even then the county court keeps the management of the rest of the estate (§ 32.003(g)).

Plenty of uncontested Swisher County estates are handled without a lawyer, particularly where the assets are modest and the family agrees on who inherits. 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, or when a guardianship has to run alongside the estate. Swisher County publishes no probate forms of its own, so every document is drafted from scratch, and 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)), which is a procedural fork 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 Swisher County and the South Plains.

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, Swisher County real property and unclaimed property, so you know what the estate holds and which estate settlement route fits before anything is filed in Tulia.

Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the paperwork for your route, drafted to fit Swisher County's process, ready to e-file through eFileTexas.gov or file with the Swisher 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 Swisher 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).