Guardianship

Guardianships: Texas Estates Code Chapter 1001

If you wish to be appointed by a Judge as legal Guardian of an individual, please know that this is a serious responsibility and requires specific actions by law on your part.  Once appointed as a legal Guardian of a person by a judge, if you do not adhere to the Orders of the Court, as well as the Texas Estates Code requirements, you may be subject to being removed as the Legal Guardian, as well as civil and criminal penalties.  It is highly recommended you seek legal counsel. The Taylor County Clerk's Office does not have forms and cannot give legal advice.  An attorney can help you get registered as a Guardian with the State of Texas as required by law, file the correct legal documents to start the Guardianship process and present correct legal documents to a Taylor County Judge at a hearing.

After you have been appointed a legal Guardian of an individual, you are required by law to report to the Court once a year.  The reporting timeline will always reflect back to the date your first Letters of Guardianship were issued (TEC 1106.003).

GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON: must file an Annual Report on the Ward's well-being (TEC 1163.101),  Printable Annual Report forms are available on our website (see forms). The filing of an Annual Report and an Order Approving has a filing fee of $12.00. Renewed Letters of Guardianship are $2.00 each.

GUARDIAN OF THE ESTATE: must file an Annual Account on the Ward's financial activities (TEC 1163.001), unless Waived by the Court.  By law, Annual Accounts must sit on record for 10 days before the Court's approval. The filing of an Annual Account and Order Approving has a filing fee of $27.00. Renewed Letters of Guardianship are $2.00 each.

GUARDIAN OF THE PERSON & ESTATE: must file both an Annual Report and Annual Account (see about for filing fees for both). These documents must be filed on the same day.  Annual Reports and/or Annual Accounts are not required to be filed by an Attorney (TEC 1163.105).

After a recent audit by the State of Texas, we can no longer accept/file Representative Payee Reports for the Wards. If you have been filing Representative Payee Reports in the past, please contact the Taylor County Clerk's Office for further instructions.