Honorable Judge Sheila Garcia Bence
Cameron County Probate Court No. 1
974 E. Harrison St.
Brownsville, TX, 78520
956-574-8116
Court Staff:
Court Administrator: All inquiries regarding Probate Cases, and Small Estate Affidavits, email
Melissa Rocha King; MelissaR.King@co.cameron.tx.us 956-574-8732
Court Coordinator: All inquiries regarding Guardianship and Civil Cases, email
Tanya Miracle; Tanya.Miracle@co.cameron.tx.us 956-574-8116
Court Reporter: Sydnee Schwab; Sydnee.Schwab@co.cameron.tx.us 956-356-6371
Bailiff: Jesse Betancourt; Jesse.Betancourt@co.cameron.tx.us
Court Investigator: All inquiries regarding initial and annual visits to the ward, and Annual Reports, email
Mindy Escamilla; Mindy.Escamilla@co.cameron.tx.us 956-356-6372
Court Auditor: All inquiries regarding the filing of Inventories, Annual Accounts, and Annual Reports email
Krystal Mallen; Krystal.Mallen@co.cameron.tx.us 956-574-8707
NOTICE: Cameron County Probate Court No. 1 is open to the public. All dockets will be conducted as hybrid court proceedings. Participants may appear either in person or via zoom in accordance with TRCP 21d. Attorneys should update their notice of hearings to clarify that participants may appear either in person or via zoom. Following is the ZConnect link https://app.zconnect.io/r/ZRWRJC.
NOTICE: The public may observe all court proceedings, including those where all participants appear electronically, in our courtroom, Cameron County Probate Court No. 1, 974 East Harrison, Brownsville, Texas. All remote court proceedings are livestreamed into the courtroom.
Administrative Order on Personal Service
Administrative Order for Mental Health
Probate & Small Estates Affidavit Forms
- Instructions for Dependent Administrator
- Instructions for Independent Administrator
- Instructions for Independent Administrator with Will Annexed
- Instructions for Independent Executor
- Personal Representative General Information
Determination of Heirships
- Checklist for Attorney Ad Litems
- Affidavit of Notice by Applicant in Proceeding to Determine Heirship
- Application to Determine Heirship
- Attorney’s Certificate of Notice in Proceeding to Determine Heirship
- BLANK Order Appointing Attorney Ad Litem
- Distributee’s Conset to Application for Independent Adminstration and Waiver of Notice
- Judgment Determining Heirship WITH IA ORDER
- Judgment Determining Heirship
- Report of Attorney Ad Litem in Heirship Proceeding
- Waiver of Citation – Heirship only
Small Estate Affidavits
Standards for Probate Court 1 Approval of Attorney Fee Applications
Zoom Instructions for Self-Represented Litigants and Court Participants
Guardianship Forms
Annual Report on the Condition and Well-Being of a Ward
Bill of Rights (English)
Bill of Rights (Spanish)
Duties as a Guardian of the Estate
Duties as a Guardian of the Person
Guardianship Registration Application (English)
Guardianship Registration Application (Spanish)
Guardianship Annual Accounting Checklist
Guardianship Checklist for Attorneys filing Guardianships in Cameron County
Legal Help & Information (texas.gov)
Physician’s Certificate of Medical Examination
Probate Court’s Representative Payee ReportTJB | Legal Aid (txcourts.gov)
TJB | Legal Aid (txcourts.gov)
Waiver of Service and Rights to Guardianship Letters
The Guardianship Training Module is now available in Spanish. To access the new version, on the Register a Guardianship page of our website, just click on the button in Spanish.
Dockets
Compliance:
Eviction:
Guardianship:
Sept 15, 2023
Bill of Rights
Instructions for Guardian of the Person Estate
JBCC-Guardianship-Reg
Zoom instructions for SRL
Mental Health:
Probate:
Zoom instructions for SRL
Court Policy – Will More Than 4 Years After Death Of The Testator
Court Policy Regarding Pro Se Applications
Small Estate: