Fort Bend probate docket: multiple wills admitted, executors appointed; bonds set in two estates

Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 admitted multiple wills and appointed executors or administrators across a batch of probate matters, the court announced during a probate docket hearing.

The court admitted wills or declared heirs and made formal appointments in a series of cases with limited on-the-record testimony from relatives and witnesses. In several matters the judge found the estates to be nontaxable and waived appraisers; in two matters the court set bond amounts because dependent administration was required or because estate assets and a minor heir made a bond appropriate.

Votes at a glance / case outcomes

- '25 CPR 042668 — Estate of Maurice Levine: The court admitted the will and appointed Mark Allen Lassof as independent executor to serve without bond; the court waived appraisers and appointed a resident agent identified on the record as Mr. Anderson. The judge said, "I'm sorry for your loss," after admitting the will and making the appointment.

- '25 CPR 042398 — Estate of Larry Arthur Biestring: The court admitted the will dated July 24, 1998, and appointed Russell Van Buechering (transcript spelling varies) as independent executor to serve without bond; appraisers were waived.

- '25 CPR 042672 — Estate of Christopher Allen Taylor: The court admitted the last will and testament dated June 6, 2016, found the estate nontaxable, and appointed Lynn Merrill Tappan Taylor as independent executrix to serve without bond; appraisers were waived.

- '25 CPR 042697 — Estate of Susan Marie (Sue Marie) Kennedy: The court admitted the will filed May 10, 2016, as a muniment of title (the record states the will was admitted as a "minimum of title") and waived the affidavit of fulfillment of terms; testimony found no need for administration.

- '25 CPR 042688 — Estate of Donald Leroy Kennedy: The court admitted the will and appointed Gina Renee Arrington as independent executrix to serve without bond; appraisers were waived.

- '25 CPR 042372 — Estate of Hong (Hung) Van Tran: After testimony from several witnesses, the court entered a judgment declaring heirs by clear and convincing evidence and discharged the attorney ad litem. Because a minor child (Peyton Tran, age five) is involved, the court appointed the decedent's spouse (identified on the record as Mrs. Tye Hain Shan / Miss Tran) as dependent administrator and set bond at $15,000 pending inventory and valuation; the court noted the bond will be adjusted after the inventory is filed.

- '25 CPR 042002 — Estate of William Sean Wallace: The court found the decedent died intestate, declared his heirs, and appointed Sean Gregory Wallace as independent administrator to serve without bond; appraisers were waived.

- '24 CPR 041635 — Estate of Zena A. Harrison: The court found and declared heirs by clear and convincing evidence and discharged the attorney ad litem with a fee award. The court appointed Gary Lynn Harrison as dependent administrator and set bond at $20,000; the record notes a Chase bank account is frozen and the estate includes a 2018/2019 Nissan Rogue (estimated value cited on the record at about $12,000) and a pending personal-injury claim of unspecified value.

- '25 CPR 042639 (docketed as 25 CPR 042639 / 25 CPR 0426390): Estate of Mary Mule: The court admitted the will dated Aug. 28, 1990, and appointed Leon Pavlak (Padlak/Padlet in portions of the record) as successor independent executor to serve without bond; appraisers were waived.

What the court relied on and why it mattered

The court's routine probates relied on sworn testimony from close relatives or long-standing acquaintances who testified to identity, domicile, dates of death, lack of revocation of wills (where applicable), and the absence of post‑will marriages, births or adoptions that could affect distribution. Where testimony established that a will existed and the statutory prerequisites were met, the court admitted the will and completed probate steps on the record. In intestacy or heirship proceedings the court made findings of heirs by clear and convincing evidence before making appointments.

Procedure and limited record details

- Several matters were characterized on the record as nontaxable estates; in those matters the court routinely waived appraisers. - Where a minor heir exists or where estate assets require continuing court supervision, the court appointed dependent administrators and set bond amounts (for example, $15,000 in the Tran matter and $20,000 in the Harrison matter), with the judge noting adjustments could follow after an inventory is filed. - The court awarded routine attorney ad litem fees in declared‑heir matters (the record shows $650 in multiple matters where attorney ad litem services were discharged).

Quotes

"I'm very sorry for your loss," the judge told several applicants after admitting wills and appointing executors or administrators.

Ending

The matters were concluded on the record; the court instructed applicants to file required inventories, oaths and bonds as applicable. Several estates remain subject to follow‑up filings (inventories, bond documentation, or valuation of pending claims) before final distribution.

(Reporting note: case outcomes and procedural steps are taken from the on-the-record probate docket entries and sworn testimony heard in Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1.)