Contested Guardianship in San Antonio

A guardianship application asks a court to take legal rights away from an adult and give them to someone else. If a relative has applied to be guardian of your mother, your brother, or you, take the hearing seriously and prepare for it.

Which Bexar County Court Hears the Case

Bexar County has three statutory probate courts, created under the authority of Gov’t Code 25.0171(c). Most filings are spread across all three. Mental health matters are the exception, and the statute sets that rule.

• Court No. 1 hears mental illness cases Gov’t Code 25.0173(n) gives Probate Court No. 1, Judge Oscar J. Kazen, primary responsibility for mental illness proceedings in the county.
• The clerk assigns those cases Under 25.0173(o), the county clerk dockets all mental health matters in Court No. 1. The parties do not choose the court.
• Other cases are assigned equally All other matters are assigned equally among the three courts, so a guardianship case can go to any of them.
• Judges can sit for each other Gov’t Code 25.0173(p) lets the Bexar probate judges sit and act for each other, and Local Rule 1.3(b) adds that no formal appointment order is needed.

Gov’t Code 25.0171(c), 25.0173(n), (o), (p); Bexar County probate courts’ local rules, approved September 25, 2026, Rule 1.3(b).

Find out which court has your case before the first hearing.

What the Court Must Find

A Texas judge cannot appoint a guardian just because the family thinks it would make things easier. Estates Code 1101.101 sets out findings the court must make first, and the person who filed the application has the burden of proof, not the adult whose rights are at stake.

A contest argues that the evidence does not support one or more of those findings. The question is what the evidence shows, not who in the family is the better child.

Estates Code 1101.101.

Needing Help Is Not the Same as Needing a Guardian

Adults lose some capacities and keep others. Someone who can no longer track a bank statement may still be clear about where they want to live. Contests often turn on the difference between what the application asks for and what the person needs.

• Someone is already handling the bills, the pharmacy and the appointments, informally and well, and no one has shown that arrangement has broken down.
• An agent is already acting under a power of attorney the proposed ward signed while able to sign it. In Bexar County, the statutory probate court can hear a dispute about that agent under Estates Code 32.006.
• The person needs less help than the application asks for, and the proposed order would take away rights the person can still exercise.
• The proposed ward has clear views about care and residence that nobody has put in front of the judge.

Sometimes a guardianship is appropriate and the real dispute is about who should serve. Acknowledging that early can shorten the case.

Contesting a Relative’s Application

Most of these cases start within one family. One adult child files, and another learns about it from a notice and has only days to respond. Two Bexar County rules matter here.

Under Local Rule 6.1(a), filing a contest or a written opposition to an application makes the matter contested automatically, and the court may set a scheduling conference. No separate ruling is needed.

Under Local Rule 3.2(a), an individual applying for guardianship of another must be represented by an attorney. Under 3.2(b) the clerk will accept the filing, but the court takes no action until a lawyer appears. A relative cannot pursue an application without a lawyer.

When a Guardian Is Isolating the Ward

Some of the hardest cases come after a guardian is appointed. The family that agreed to the guardianship can no longer reach the person, visits are refused, the house is sold, or money is moved in ways that benefit the guardian.

Removal of a guardian is governed by Estates Code 1203.051 and 1203.052. Removal depends on evidence, so start by building a record.

• Dates of refused or cancelled visits, in writing, with whatever response you were given.
• The ward’s own words where you have them, and the names of care staff or neighbours who still see the person regularly.
• Account statements, property transfers, and any change of address or facility made without notice to the family.
• What the guardian has filed with the court. In Bexar, if a required Inventory, Annual Account or Annual Report in a guardianship is more than sixty days past deadline, Local Rule 8.1(d) allows the court to set the case for a dismissal hearing. A guardian who stops filing reports may be hiding something.

Estates Code 1203.051, 1203.052; Bexar County probate courts’ local rules, approved September 25, 2026, Rule 8.1(d).

We act to protect a ward from a guardian who is isolating or exploiting that person, and we defend adults against applications that should never have been brought. We do not help anyone take control of a relative’s money.

What We Don’t Handle

If the family agrees and the application simply needs to be prepared and presented, another San Antonio firm can do that work well and for less. We take guardianship matters that are opposed or that have gone wrong after appointment.

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Bring whatever the court already has: the application, any notice you received, and the names of everyone the court will have to hear from. A short first call is usually enough for us to tell you whether you need to contest an application or seek removal.