Chambers County probate court approves registry withdrawal, admits creditor claim and several wills, and OKs guardianship sale

A Chambers County probate judge on Feb. 3 cleared a series of estate and guardianship matters, granting a withdrawal from the court registry in one small estate, admitting a creditor’s authenticated claim in another matter, admitting multiple wills to probate and approving a guardian’s proposed sale of real property to finance care for a ward.

The most detailed proceeding involved the estate of the late Robert Wayne Langston. Counsel told the court that proceeds of a court-ordered sale — about $20,000 held in the registry — should be used to reimburse attorney fees and certain expenses and to distribute remaining funds. Desiree Diane Langston testified that she had filed motions to withdraw funds and described payments she’d made to preserve estate assets, including roughly $15,498 paid toward a 2018 Chevrolet (notes and insurance) and a bond premium of $260. Counsel asked that, after outstanding debts (reported in the hearing at roughly $7,743) and insurance obligations are satisfied, title to the vehicle be issued to Desiree alone and that remaining cash be split so each sister would receive approximately $5,776. The judge approved the motion to withdraw funds from the registry and directed counsel to submit a separate order to include authority to transfer title as requested.

In another matter, an attorney asked to withdraw after saying the attorney‑client relationship had broken down. The client, identified in court as Mary Rice, told the judge she had asked for refunds of unearned fees and alleged counsel pressured her to give an aunt $40,000; the lawyer, an employee of the law office of Brian Pagan, told the court he had advised a different approach and placed in the record an allegation that a negative online review had defamed him. The court granted the motion to withdraw as counsel.

Counsel for 5 Point Credit Union presented an authenticated claim in the estate of James Patrick Nettles and introduced Patricia Hanley as a records witness. Hanley testified that a credit‑account payoff figure was $20,860.27 as of Feb. 3, 2026; she also identified a secured travel‑trailer loan (a 2016 Keystone Montana) with an original amount financed shown in the records as $73,771.61 and referenced a promissory-note balance that had been reported in prior filings. Mark Henry, attorney for the creditor, asked the court to include $3,000 in attorney fees as part of the claim; the court admitted the authenticated claim and approved the related order.

The court also admitted several wills to probate and appointed independent executors (often to serve without bond) after counsel confirmed jurisdiction and absence of disqualifying factors. Those matters included a will for Raymond Navarro Perino Jr. (will dated Sept. 3, 2015), a will for Heidi Rammler Felice (dated March 8, 2002) and a will for Rebecca S. Claus (dated June 19, 2019). Separately, the court admitted a copy of the will for Carol Henry Harmon Jr. (dated Sept. 18, 2007), noting the original had been lost after storm-related flooding; the court appointed Carol Henry Harmon III as dependent administrator with will annexed, set bond at $600 and waived appraisers.

On guardianship matters, the court accepted a transfer of guardianship for Madison Cheyenne from Galveston County and set bond at $100. The court also authorized the sale of a second Bragg Road parcel to raise funds for the care of Tyler Russell Ogden, approving the application to sell the unimproved lot for $45,000 with third‑party financing noted (financing figure discussed as $40,500) and a recurring guardian allowance capped at $2,400 per year (the guardian had requested $200 per month). The guardian was directed to submit title commitments, sale documents and an accounting to the court before closing.

What the court decided next: judges directed counsel to file or transmit final orders and supporting sale documents where needed; in the Langston matter the judge allowed funds to remain in the registry for the incarcerated sibling until formal application or pickup could be completed. No trial‑type findings were made beyond admissions of records, approvals of claims and orders authorizing sales or administration.

Quotes from the record include Patricia Hanley’s financial summary for the Nettles accounts: “As of the third, it is $20,860.27,” and the client’s account of her dispute with counsel in the withdrawal‑as‑counsel matter: “he demanded that I give my aunt $40,000,” which the client said she refused. The judge summed up the Langston disposition by approving the withdrawal motion and instructing counsel to submit a separate order capturing the title‑transfer language requested.

The court hearing produced a cluster of routine probate and guardianship approvals rather than contested litigation; where disputes were raised (for example, between a client and her counsel), the court’s orders were procedural (granting withdrawal, admitting claims, or appointing administrators) and typically included directions for filing final orders or additional paperwork.