How County Lines Affect Estate Planning in Fair Oaks Ranch and Leon Springs

Two families can live four minutes apart along the I-10 corridor and have their estates handled by different courthouses, different judges, and different appraisal districts. Nothing about the houses explains it. The county line does.

This comes up often for San Antonio estate planners working with clients in Fair Oaks Ranch, Leon Springs, and the surrounding Hill Country. Most people know their mailing address. Far fewer know their county, and the county is what the paperwork follows.

One City, Three County Lines

Fair Oaks Ranch is unusual. The city limits stretch across Bexar, Comal, and Kendall counties, so one municipality operates under three county systems. The city says so plainly on its own tax page: appraisals are handled by whichever county the property physically sits in, and residents deal with one of three appraisal districts.

Leon Springs is different. It sits entirely in Bexar County, partly inside San Antonio city limits, a few miles down I-10.

Mailing addresses add to the confusion. ZIP code boundaries do not follow county lines, and mail in this area carries Boerne and San Antonio addresses depending on the route. Your mailing address is not a reliable guide to which county you live in. Your deed is.

Where You Live Determines Where Your Will Is Probated

Texas law is clear on this point. A will is filed for probate in the county where the person lived, not the county where their property is located. Someone who lives on the Kendall County side of Fair Oaks Ranch has an estate that belongs in Boerne, even if most of their real estate sits elsewhere.

This catches families off guard. They assume the case goes to San Antonio because that is the city they identify with. If the residence was on the Comal side, the filing belongs in New Braunfels.

The Courthouse Is Not the Same From County to County

Bexar County has courts that hear nothing but probate and guardianship matters. Judges see these cases regularly, dockets are frequent, and a contested matter stays in the same specialized court.

Comal County has no court dedicated solely to probate. Probate and guardianship matters are heard by the County Courts at Law in New Braunfels, alongside civil and misdemeanor dockets.

Kendall County splits the work. Uncontested probate is heard on the County Judge's probate docket at the courthouse in Boerne. Contested probate cases are designated to the 451st Judicial District Court, so a dispute moves to a different judge and a different docket than the one where the case started.

None of this changes the substantive law. The Estates Code is the same statewide. What changes is the rhythm: how often dockets are set, how quickly a hearing can be scheduled, and what happens if someone objects. For an uncontested estate that qualifies, procedures like transferring real estate without full probate may be available in any of the three. Because the local practices differ, it helps to work with an attorney who files in all three counties.

Deeds and Exemptions Follow the Land, Not the Owner

While probate follows the person, real property follows itself. A deed is recorded with the county clerk where the land is located. Owning land in more than one Texas county does not mean a second probate. The estate is probated once, and a certified copy of the will and the order admitting it can then be filed in the deed records of the other county.

A home on the Kendall side and acreage on the Comal side means two sets of county records. If you move property into a trust, each deed has to be recorded in the correct county, and missing one leaves that parcel outside the trust.

Exemptions work the same way. Your residence homestead exemption is filed with the appraisal district for the county where the home sits. After a transfer into a trust, confirm with that district that the exemption carried over.

Key Takeaways

• Fair Oaks Ranch city limits cross Bexar, Comal, and Kendall counties. Leon Springs sits entirely in Bexar County.
• A will is probated in the county where the person lived, not where the property is located.
• Bexar County has courts dedicated to probate. Comal uses its County Courts at Law, and Kendall sends contested cases to its district court.
• Deeds are recorded in the county where the land sits, so multiple parcels can mean multiple county filings.
• Homestead exemptions are filed with the appraisal district for that specific county.
• A mailing address does not reliably tell you which county you are in.

Confirm Your County Before You Sign Anything

Knowing which county your residence is in, and which counties your other property sits in, tells your family where to file and where to look. It is the kind of detail San Antonio estate planners confirm at the start rather than leave for an executor to discover later.

A review of your county and your county records is usually quick. Bring your deed, a list of any other parcels you own, and your current will or trust, and an attorney can tell you which courthouse your estate would go to, whether every deed is recorded where it belongs, and whether your homestead exemption is on file with the right appraisal district.

Attorney Shawn McCammon and the team at McCammon Law, P.C. work with families and business owners in Boerne, San Antonio, New Braunfels, and throughout Kendall, Comal, and Bexar Counties on wills, trusts, probate, and business succession planning. To request a consultation and go through your documents county by county, we are glad to help. Get a free consultation to learn more.

References: City of Fair Oaks Ranch, "City Taxes" and Texas Constitution and Statutes, "Estates Code Chapter 33. Venue"