Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 settles multiple probate and guardianship matters; guardianship trustee search continues

FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 on Thursday handled a packed probate and guardianship docket, admitting wills, declaring heirs and appointing executors and administrators in multiple estates and naming a guardian for an incapacitated resident. The court also delayed final action on a proposed 13.01 management trust after the nominated trustee withdrew.

The matters affect decedents across Fort Bend County and include admissions of last wills, judgments of heirship and the appointment of administrators and a guardian. The court issued multiple dispositive orders on evidence presented by family members and attorneys, and set or waived bonds and appraisers according to filings and testimony.

Why it matters: these orders determine who will manage or inherit modest estates, shape care decisions for an elderly person found to be totally incapacitated, and in one matter put the selection of a professional trustee on hold — a step that can delay how funds for ongoing care are managed.

The court admitted the last will of Lu Ying Li (also recorded as Li Ying Li) to probate and appointed Ching Fing Bailey (also identified in filings as Michelle Bailey) as independent executor to serve without bond; appraisers were waived. The judge recorded on the record that the witness testimony supported probate and the appointment.

In a separate probate, the court admitted the will for the estate of Catherine (Catherine?) LaBourgeois and appointed Henry Joseph Le Bourgeois Jr. as independent executor to serve without bond; appraisers were waived.

The court heard proof in a contested heirship and administration matter for Enrique Baron Vargas (case listed in the record). After testimony from family witnesses, the court found by clear and convincing evidence the heirs listed in the judgment declaring heirship, discharged the court-appointed attorney ad litem and awarded that attorney a fee of $650. The court then granted appointment of Martha Alicia Melgarrejo Garcia as dependent administrator for Vargas’ estate and set bond at $50,000. At hearing Ms. Melgarrejo Garcia estimated total personal-property value at roughly $80,000, describing approximately $35,000 in bank funds, $30,000–$40,000 in the value of a restaurant, about $2,000 in household goods and a vehicle she estimated at roughly $40,000.

In a guardianship matter for Joe Merle Bailey, the court reported that the proposed 13.01 management trust portion of the petition was delayed after Hancock Whitney Bank — the nominated trustee — withdrew from serving as trust manager. The court proceeded with the guardianship-of-person prove-up, found by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed ward is totally incapacitated, and appointed Faith Elizabeth Gilliam as guardian of the person with bond set at $50; the court left the trust-management portion to be completed once a replacement trustee is secured.

The court also took testimony and admitted a will for Jean (Wayne J. Suntiniran appeared as witness). The judge admitted that will to probate and instructed that an affidavit evidencing fulfillment of terms be filed in the case before final closing.

In an heirship and administration matter for Sharon Elizabeth Morgan, the court found by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent’s heirs are the two daughters identified in the record; the court appointed Kristen Neal Becker and Kimberly Robin Morgan as independent co-administrators to serve without bond and discharged the attorney ad litem, awarding that attorney a fee of $800 as recorded.

In the estate of Edgar (Edgar Lee) Campbell Sr., after witnesses testified to family relationships and absence of a will, the court declared heirs as listed in the judgment, took judicial notice of filed affidavits from several relatives, awarded the court-appointed attorney a fee ($650), and appointed Gloria W. Campbell as independent administrator of the estate to serve without bond; appraisers were waived. The court recorded Ms. Campbell’s address in the record as 3115 Clyburn Court, Missouri City.

The judge repeatedly announced dispositive orders on the record; for example, in one probate the court stated: “The court will admit the will to probate and appoint [the named person] as independent executor to serve without bond, and appraisers will be waived as well,” language used in multiple dockets after witness testimony.

Courtroom logistics and timing: several hearings experienced technical delays while remote witnesses and attorneys joined the Zoom hearing. In one matter the court recessed a contested trustee appointment after a bank declined to serve and directed parties to identify alternate institutional trustees.

What’s next: administratively, some matters will proceed to asset collection and distribution under the appointed administrators; the guardianship case will return to the court once a trustee willing to serve is located for the proposed 13.01 management trust. Filings referenced by the court — for example, affidavits of fulfillment of testamentary terms and trustee acceptance or replacement — are required before final administrative steps can occur in certain files.

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Items summarized above were taken from on-the-record testimony and orders in the Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 docket during the session. The court addressed proofs of death, will executions, heirship testimony and guardianship necessity before issuing the appointments and administrative directions recorded above.