Everyone appearing in court should be attired in an appropriate manner maintaining the dignity of the Court. The Court does not allow the following attire:
No, the Court does not accept filings.
All civil court matters must be submitted electronically pursuant to the State of Texas Supreme Court Mandate ordered December 11, 2012 (Misc. Docket No. 12-9208). Please visit Electronic Filing to access information including the mandate order, the return for correction reasons and other related information.
Generally all communications with the Judge must be done in open court with all parties present. Please do not attempt to call Judge Morales directly or contact him by e-mail or any other method of communication outside of court.
The Misdemeanor Mental Health Court (MMHC) is a collaborative, problem-solving arm of the Criminal Justice System, created in 2010 by Judge Ben W. “Bud” Childers, in which probationers living with a mental illness adhere to a judicially supervised restoration program and/or plan that is monitored by the Fort Bend County Probation Department and Judge Christopher G. Morales of County Court at Law No. 1. The goal of MMHC is to reduce recidivism rates of those diagnosed with mental illness and provide them with keys to becoming successful and productive citizens.
MMHC is designed to leverage local and national resources to the benefit of the defendant living with mental illness. These resources include connecting offenders with doctors and governmental services, medication compliance oversight, intensive probation supervision and inpatient/outpatient treatments. Once a Defendant successfully completes the program, he/she will potentially continue to have these resources available to them for continued care.
MMHC is structured as a two-tier program. Tier 1 consists of a pre-trial diversionary program. If eligible, a defendant may enter the program through a 6-month or 12-month deferred prosecution agreement. If a defendant successfully completes the program, the Defendant’s charges will be dismissed by the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office and an expunction application will be submitted to the Felony Mental Health Court within 30 days of dismissal. Tier 2 is a traditional plea agreement, consisting of deferred adjudication or straight probation. If eligible, a defendant may enter the program through a deferred adjudication plea, which may last anywhere from 6 to 24 months or a straight probation plea lasting anywhere from 12 to 24 months.
Attorneys, who find that their client is interested in entering the program or that the program is best suited for a potential client, please download the [PDF] and follow the included instructions.
MMHC Dockets are held on designated Thursdays at 2:00 p.m.
If you have any questions regarding the program, feel free to contact the Court at 281-633-7415, or the Court Coordinator, Sarah Toler at Sarah.Toler@fortbendcountytx.gov.
For additional questions regarding the MMHC Application or medical history documentation please contact the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office Mental Health Division at 281-341-4460.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS GENERAL INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICING CIVIL LITIGATION IN COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1. THIS INFORMATION IS IN NO WAY INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE SPECIFIC TO ANY INDIVIDUAL, BUT IS MERELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
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PEACE OFFICER WHO HAVE ARRESTED OR DETAINED A WARD OF THIS COURT |
UNCONTESTED MATTERS are heard on designated Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. The Court holds Zoom hearings every other week. All other uncontested hearings will be held IN-PERSON.
Note: The Court will offer each party requesting a hearing an IN-PERSON and Zoom hearing date. You will confirm with the probate auditor via email which of the two dates you wish to schedule your hearing. Your hearing date will be confirmed by a follow up email from the Probate Auditor. If you fail to receive an email confirming the date you selected, your hearing has not been properly scheduled. Please contact/email the Probate Auditor immediately.
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If you have scheduled a Zoom hearing, you, your witnesses, and all participants must be proficient in the Zoom application. Any delays lasting more than 1 minute will result in your case being held until the end of docket, or in extreme cases rescheduled. |
CONTESTED MATTERS are heard on designated Monday afternoons at 1:30p.m. Hearings that are anticipated to last more than 1.5 hours will be scheduled as the Courts’ calendar permits. Contested matters will be set for IN-PERSON hearings only.
JURY TRIALS are heard on designated Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. The Court will hold an IN-PERSON Pre-trial conference at least one week prior to the jury trial date. Please contact the Probate Auditor, Anita Ayala for available dates.
Note: A Docket Control Order will be entered by the Court in all cases set for trial.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR UNCONTESTED HEARINGS
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CONTESTED HEARINGS INFORMATION
The Court requires all Small Estate Affidavits to utilize the format as established by the Board of County Courts at Law Judges. You may download the Small Estate Affidavit here. Small Estate instructions/checklist have been provided for your assistance. If you have questions beyond the instructions/checklist, the Court recommends consulting with an attorney.
MEDICAID ESTATE RECOVERY PROGRAM (MERP) - If the decedent applied for and received Medicaid benefits on or before March 1, 2005, but there is no Medicaid claim against the estate, a MERP certification that the decedent’s estate is not subject to a MERP claim is required to be filed. You can find the Fort Bend County’s Policy regarding Muniments of Title here.
ATTORNEY AD LITEMS (AAL) shall be appointed to represent the interest of any heirs whose addresses are unknown in a proceeding to probate a will as a Muniment of Title after four years.
AFFIDAVIT OF FULFILLMENT OF TERMS (“AFFIDAVIT”) will not be waived unless, (1) The Applicant is the sole heir under the will; or (2) All beneficiaries join in the application, file a waiver, or appear in court. Waivers must include language that the beneficiary is requesting that the requirement of the filing of an Affidavit be waived.
PROBATING A WILL MORE THAN FOUR YEARS AFTER DECEDENT’S DEATH – Reference “more than four years after death of testator” in the title and body of the application and order. All heirs and devisees under the Will must be personally served with citation, or in the alternative, file an “Affidavit Waiving Citation and Waiving Objection for Probate of a Will More than Four Years after Decedent’s Death.”
SOCIAL SECURITY AND DRIVER’S LICENSE NUMBERS ON APPLICATIONS - Estates Code Sections 256.052(a), 257.051(a) and 301.052 require applications to probate a will and applications for letters of administration to include the last three digits of the applicant’s social security number and driver’s license number and, if known, the last three digits of the decedent’s social security number and driver’s license number.
EXACT NAMES AND ALIASES – The Court requires all pleadings to begin with the exact names as they appear in the will for the decedent and executor, even if the person is now known by another name. The exact name can be followed by the “now known as” name – or any other a/k/a or f/k/a/ name.
ALTERNATE EXECUTOR – If anyone other than the first-named executor in the will is being appointed, be sure to include the name of the first-named executor and why he/she cannot serve. Do this for all other named executors who will not serve but who have priority over the executor(s) who will serve. Also, include this information in the findings section of the order.
EXECUTOR - The Court will require the Executor/Applicant to personally appear before the Court to prove up the Will, unless the Applicant’s attorney drafted the will.
PROBATING A WILL THAT IS NOT SELF-PROVED – The Court requires all necessary witnesses to be present to give testimony. All witness testimony shall be reduced to writing.
PROBATING A COPY OF A WILL OR CODICIL OR A LOST WILL OR CODICIL - Reference “copy” in the title and body of the application, order, proof, and oath. Physically file the copy of the will or codicil that is being offered for probate with the County Clerk as if it were an original document. This allows the Court to properly evaluate the copy of the will or codicil that is being offered for probate. All heirs and devisees under the Will must be personally served with citation, or in the alternative, file an “Affidavit Waiving Citation for Probate of a Copy of a Lost Will or Codicil or Probate of a Lost Will or Codicil without a Copy”
MINOR HEIRS - The Court will require a dependent administration if a decedent dies intestate and any heirs are minors, unless extraordinary circumstances are brought to the Court’s attention. Please note that adults under a Court Ordered Guardianship are considered minors under this section.
HEIRSHIP DETERMINATIONS IN DEPENDENTS – The Court will require that heirship of the decedent be determined at the time a dependent administrator is appointed, unless extraordinary circumstances are brought to the Court’s attention. If a dependent administrator is appointed without an heirship determination, the Court will set a deadline whereby the heirship determination will occur.
I. THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED IN ALL HEIRSHIP PROCEEDING IN COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1:
THE TEXAS BAR FOUR (4) HOUR AD LITEM CERTIFICATION must be e-filed by all applicant attorneys filing a new guardianship proceeding, along with the application.
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK with the JBCC is required of all proposed guardians, except for attorney’s who are applying to serve as a guardian. A hearing will not be scheduled until the Court has the criminal background check.
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER’S CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION FORM - make sure to provide the doctor with the most recent version. We will accept your own form, but make sure it complies with the code.
REGISTRATION AND TRAINING with the JBCC must be completed as soon as possible but no later than ten business days prior to the scheduled hearing.
ANNUAL REPORT FORM shall be completed by all guardians appointed by the Court. Failure to timely file the Annual Report may result in a Show Cause Hearing or the removal of the guardian. For further information on how and when to file the Annual Report, please contact the Administrative Clerk, Morgan Diers. Other guardian forms include:
PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE GENERAL INFORMATION SHEET, needs to be completed for all persons who are appointed in a fiduciary role (Executor, Administrator, and Guardian). If multiple persons are appointed in a case, each individual will need to complete the form. The form is to be returned to the Probate Auditor via email (DO NOT E-FILE).
ALL ATTORNEYS SEEKING AD LITEM APPOINTMENTS must meet the requirements listed with in the First Amended Standing Administrative Order on Attorney and Guardian Ad Litem Appointment Lists. No exceptions will be allowed. In February of each year the court will hold its annual “Practicing Probate in County Court at Law No. 1”. All attorneys seeking ad litem appointments must attend this course. The date will be emailed to all attorneys contained within the Court’s email list or who have expressed an interest in serving as an ad litem. For further information, please contact the Probate Auditor.
WRITTEN REPORTS shall be filed by the Ad Litem in all Heirship proceedings seven (7) days prior to the hearing date. Ad Litems in guardianship proceedings are not required to file a report.
THE ORDER AUTHORIZING APPOINTEE FEES shall be used by Ad Litems in all Heirship and Guardianship proceedings, with few exceptions. For further directions on how and when to utilize this forms, please contact the Probate Auditor.
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THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS GENERAL INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICING JUVENILE LAW IN COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1. THIS INFORMATION IS IN NO WAY INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE SPECIFIC TO ANY INDIVIDUAL, BUT IS MERELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
County Courts at Law No. 1 of Fort Bend County sit as a designated juvenile court. Juvenile courts decide matters involving adolescents who have not attained the age of majority. Matters handled by the juvenile courts include juvenile delinquency and issues involving children in need of supervision. Juvenile court hearings take place in-person and are formal proceedings.
Juvenile adjudication, disposition and status hearings are heard on designated Wednesdays at 9:00 A.M. Trials are heard on days designated as Jury Trial Dockets. All other hearings are set at the Court’s convenience.
Unless prior permission has been obtained, detention hearings are heard by Associate Judge Lewis White. Juvenile detention hearings are heard at the Legion Drive Annex on Mondays at 1:30 P.M., on Wednesdays at 1:00 P.M., and on Thursdays at 9:00 A.M.
In accordance with the County Courts at Law’s recent policy changes regarding attorney fee vouchers, all attorneys will e-file their juvenile fee vouchers. The fee voucher is to be sworn and filed with the Fort Bend County Clerk’s Office.
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THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS GENERAL INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICING CRIMINAL LAW IN COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1. THIS INFORMATION IS IN NO WAY INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE SPECIFIC TO ANY INDIVIDUAL, BUT IS MERELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
Friday morning Criminal Arraignment Dockets are held IN-PERSON. All Defendants and Attorneys are expected to appear IN-PERSON at 8:30 A.M., as per the Defendant’s bonding paperwork or summons.
At the Criminal Arraignment Docket, the Court will implement a Criminal Docket Control Order (“DCO”) in all cases scheduled for arraignment. All hearing dates applicable to the Defendant’s case will be entered on the DCO. All hearings that the Court may hold via zoom may be accessed through the QR Code located on the DCO. The Defendant’s failure to appear at a future DCO scheduled hearing date may result in the issuing of a capias and/or forfeiting of the Defendant’s bond.
All pleas are heard on designated plea dates, which are not listed on the DCO or at the Pre-trial conference. If an attorney wishes to plea a Defendant, please contact the Court Coordinator, Sarah Toler, for available dates. The Court requests that the parties have all paperwork completed prior to the plea date. The plea paperwork may be turned in prior to the plea date or at the time of the hearing. If the Defendant fails to finally dispose of the matter at a plea date, the DCO shall remain in place and the Defendant is expected to appear at all DCO scheduled hearings. The Defendant’s failure to appear at a DCO scheduled hearing may result in the issuing of a capias and/or forfeiting of the Defendant’s bond.
Jury trials are scheduled on designated days. Pre-trial conferences will be held on all cases set for trial and are IN-PERSON hearings. All parties are required to appear for the Pre-Trial Conference. All motions filed in the cause will be heard at the Pre-Trial Conference. The Court will accept pleas at the Pre-Trial Conference. Pleas on the scheduled jury trial date are at the Court’s discretion.
MAG and MRP dockets are scheduled on designated Friday mornings and are IN-PERSON only hearings.
The Jail Arraignment Docket is held on designated Friday mornings at 9:00 A.M. The deadline for attorneys to schedule an inmate for the docket is 12:00 P.M. on the Wednesday preceding Friday’s docket. To schedule a hearing, please contact the Court Coordinator, Sarah Toler. Inmates with pending felony cases will not be brought over, unless defense counsel intends to plea the matter. The Court on its own motion will schedule a status hearing with defense counsel and the inmate, if the inmate has been pending in the county jail for over 30 days and no felony is pending.
In accordance with the County Courts at Law’s recent policy changes regarding attorney fee vouchers, all attorneys will electronically submit their fee vouchers.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS GENERAL INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICING CIVIL LITIGATION IN COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 1. THIS INFORMATION IS IN NO WAY INTENDED AS LEGAL ADVICE SPECIFIC TO ANY INDIVIDUAL, BUT IS MERELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
County Court at Law No. 1 will continue to conduct proceedings remotely when possible. Thus, most all uncontested and some contested hearings will be held via Zoom. Once a hearing is requested, you will receive notice via email from the Court with your Zoom link or instructions for in-person hearings. Please direct all questions you may have regarding your hearing to Court Coordinator Sarah Toler via email.
In accordance with Rules 166, 190 and 192 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court will enter a Uniform Scheduling Order in all cases filed in the Court, setting out mediation requirements, discovery deadlines and a trial date. If the parties wish to enter an agreed scheduling order, please contact the Court Coordinator Sarah Toler via email, to schedule a hearing on your Motion to Enter a Scheduling Order.
All requests for continuances must be by formal written motion and filed with the County Clerk’s office at least one week prior to the Pre-Trial Conference, unless the request is due to an emergency. Unless otherwise stated, all Motions for Continuances are heard in person before Judge Christopher G. Morales and require counsel’s appearance at the hearing. Please contact Court Coordinator Sarah Toler via email, to schedule a hearing on your Motion for Continuance.
Attorneys with cases set on the Dismissal for Want of Prosecution (DWOP) docket must appear in-person at the docket call. If you are filing a Motion to Retain, please make sure it is properly verified and filed within ten (10) days prior to the DWOP docket. The filing of a Motion to Retain does not excuse your appearance at the DWOP docket. In some situations, the Court may grant your Motion to Retain prior to the DWOP docket. The DWOP docket is held in-person before Judge Christopher G. Morales. Please direct all questions to the Court Coordinator Sarah Toler via email.
JP Eviction appeals and Forcible Detainers are heard before Associate Judge Lewis White. To schedule a hearing, please contact his Court Coordinator, Eralyn Fisher. All notices of hearing must be filed with the County Clerk’s office prior to the hearing date, and in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
Applications for Occupational or Restricted Licenses are heard before Associate Judge Lewis White on Fridays at 9:00 AM. To schedule a hearing, please contact his Court Coordinator, Eralyn Fisher. The deadline to schedule a hearing is 3:00 PM on the Wednesday preceding Friday's docket. There are no exceptions to this deadline.
Petitions for Non-Disclosure are heard before Associate Judge Lewis White. To schedule a hearing, please contact his Court Coordinator, Eralyn Fisher. All notices of hearing must be filed with the County Clerk’s office prior to the hearing date, and in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure
The Court is prohibited from providing legal advice or assisting in the preparation of lawsuits. The Court will only offer general information. There is a pro se self-help manual located in the Fort Bend County Law Library that offers information to litigants that choose to represent themselves. The Law Library is located in the Fort Bend County Justice Center, 1422 Eugene Heimann Circle Richmond, Texas. For more information, please contact Mr. Andrew Bennett, Law Librarian, at (281) 341-3718. Additional help may be found at www.Texaslawhelp.org or at https://selfhelp.efiletexas.gov/srl
County Court at Law No. 1 will continue to conduct certain proceedings through remote video conferencing technology (i.e. Z-connect) that help assist with the Court’s caseload. These hearings include, but are not limited, to Uncontested Probate Dockets, Civil Motions Docket, and Criminal Status Dockets. You shall receive notice of your remote video conferencing hearing in criminal cases on the Court issued Criminal Docket Control Order or in civil and probate cases, through email correspondence. You will find the Court’s Video Conferencing Policy and Procedures under the Documents & Form tab of County Court at Law No. 1’s website.
Friday morning Criminal Arraignment Dockets are IN-PERSON. All Defendants and Attorneys are expected to appear in-person at 8:30 a.m., as per the Defendant’s bonding paperwork.
At the Criminal Arraignment Docket, the Court will implement a Criminal Docket Control Order (“DCO”) in all criminal cases scheduled for Arraignment. All hearings applicable to the Defendant’s case will be entered on the DCO. All hearings that the Court may hold via zoom may be accessed through the QR Code located on the DCO. The Defendant’s failure to appear at a DCO scheduled hearing may result in the issuing of a capias and/or forfeiting of the Defendant’s bond.
If an attorney wishes to plea a Defendant on a date not listed on the DCO, please contact the Court Coordinator. If the Defendant fails to finally dispose of the matter at a plea docket, the DCO shall remain in place and the Defendant is expected to appear at all DCO scheduled hearings. The Defendant’s failure to appear at a DCO scheduled hearing may result in the issuing of a capias and/or forfeiting of the Defendant’s bond. Defense Counsel is expected to have all paperwork completed prior to the plea date but may bring the paperwork with them to the plea docket.
If you wish to view a live stream of the Court’s Zoom hearings, you may subscribe to the Court at Law No. 1’s YouTube Channel or you may find the channel listed as: @fortbendcountycourtatlawno1. Per guidance from the Office of Court Administration, this channel adheres to the Open Courts provision of the Texas Constitution.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact Sarah Toler, Court Coordinator, at (832) 471-2822 or via email at sarah.toler@fortbendcountytx.gov, and Anita Ayala, Probate Auditor, at (281) 633-7413 or via email at anita.ayala@fortbendcountytx.gov.
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