Irion County Family Court Records

Irion County family court records are filed and maintained by the Irion County Clerk's office in Mertzon, Texas. As a small West Texas county with a population of around 1,500, Irion combines several clerk functions into one office. Divorce cases, custody and conservatorship orders, child support filings, and protective orders are handled through the county's court system. You can search Irion County family court records online through multiple tools including SuretyCountyRecords.com and the statewide re:SearchTX portal, or contact the clerk's office directly for in-person and mail requests. This guide covers how to find records, applicable fees, and legal resources available to Irion County residents.

Irion County Clerk

The Irion County Clerk, Shirley Graham-Miles, serves as the primary records keeper for all county and district court matters in Irion County. The office is located at 209 N. Parkview, Mertzon, TX 76941. You can also use the mailing address P.O. Box 736, Mertzon, TX 76941-0736. The office handles family court case records, vital records, marriage licenses, property records, and other county records from this single location. The phone number is (325) 835-2421 and fax is (325) 835-7941. Email is irionclerk@gmail.com.

Irion County keeps records going back well over a century. Birth and death records are available from 1903. Marriage records go back to 1889. Court records, including family court case files, are available from 1889. Family court dockets, including divorce and civil matters, are posted monthly on the county's website at co.irion.tx.us. Court dockets by month are accessible at co.irion.tx.us/page/irion.Court.Dockets.

The Irion County clerk's office makes it clear that staff do not do research on your behalf. You must do your own research or provide a specific case name and case number for individual judgment retrieval. Hand scanners and no-flash photography are permitted for in-person research at the courthouse.

Searching Irion County Family Court Records

Irion County has several online options for searching court and property records. The SuretyCountyRecords.com Irion County portal offers a searchable database going back to June 1933. You can search by grantor, grantee, instrument type, filing date, legal description, and more. Document types include deeds, liens, probates, divorces, and judgments. Note that child support liens are not available through the Surety database. A fee applies for viewing and downloading documents through Surety.

The TexasFile free public records search also covers Irion County deed records and can be useful for related property searches in connection with a family court case.

The re:SearchTX statewide portal from the Texas Judicial Branch covers electronically filed cases from 2018 onward and provides free basic case index access for Irion County and other Texas counties.

Criminal and probate records are available through iDocket.com for Irion County from February 1, 2019 onward. For records not available online, use the County Records Request form available at this link. Submit the form with payment by credit or debit card, which can be processed over the phone once the total cost is known.

Family Court Cases in Irion County

Irion County's district court handles all family law matters in the county. Divorce cases are filed under Texas Family Code Chapter 6. Both no-fault and fault-based divorces are available in Texas. Community property rules govern the division of marital assets in Texas, and the court makes a just and right division when parties cannot agree. Divorce records are available through the Surety database and from the clerk's office directly.

Custody and conservatorship cases are governed by Texas Family Code Chapter 153. The court sets conservatorship type and possession schedules in the best interest of the child. Child support is calculated using the state guideline formula under Texas Family Code Chapter 154. Paternity, protective orders, and modifications are also part of the Irion County family court docket.

The county keeps family court docket information posted monthly online. Family dockets are listed by month from January through December on the county's docket page. This is a useful way to confirm a hearing date or locate an upcoming case without calling the clerk's office. Note that court records in Irion County, as in all Texas counties, are records of the judiciary and are not subject to the Public Information Act under Government Code 552.003(1)(B), though they are available for inspection during courthouse hours.

Filing Family Court Cases in Irion County

To file for divorce in Irion County, at least one spouse must have lived in Texas for six months and in Irion County for 90 days before filing, per Texas Family Code Section 6.301. After filing, the 60-day waiting period under Section 6.702 applies before the court can finalize the divorce. Family violence situations may allow the court to waive this period.

Attorneys must file through eFile Texas. Self-represented litigants can file paper documents at the Mertzon courthouse. Court forms are available from the clerk's office, through the Texas courts forms library, and from the Texas State Law Library family law guide. Fee waivers are available through a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment filed with the court. Note that individual court documents require both a case name and specific case number before the clerk will retrieve them.

Irion County Record Fees and Access Rules

Irion County has a specific fee schedule for record retrieval. Property documents retrieved by staff cost $1.00 per page under Local Government Code 118.011. Court documents, which require a cause number and name to retrieve, cost $5.00 plus $1.00 per page. Federal tax lien searches run $15.00 per name plus $1.00 per page under Property Code 14.004(d). Credit and debit card payments are accepted over the phone once the total cost is confirmed.

For the SuretyCountyRecords.com portal, the fee to perform a search is $3.00. Viewing database information costs $0.50. Viewing and downloading all image pages costs $3.00. Individual pages cost $0.75 each. No bulk electronic access to court records is available, and court records cannot be delivered in bulk or electronic format per Texas law. In-person inspection during business hours is always permitted for non-restricted records.

Adoption records are sealed by court order. Juvenile records are confidential. Social Security numbers and financial account numbers are redacted from public records under Texas Family Code Section 105.006. For statewide divorce indexes, contact Texas DSHS Vital Statistics. The Texas Attorney General's Open Records Division handles appeals of denied records requests.

Legal Resources in Irion County

The Texas Judicial Branch self-help center at txcourts.gov/programs-services/self-help has free guides for self-represented litigants in Texas family courts. These guides cover divorce, custody, support, and protective orders and are useful for anyone in Irion County handling their own family law case without a lawyer.

TexasLawHelp at texaslawhelp.org provides plain-language family law guides and free downloadable forms. Legal aid organizations serving the Concho Valley and West Texas region may be able to help qualifying Irion County residents with low incomes. Call the State Bar of Texas lawyer referral service at (800) 252-9690 to find a private attorney who serves the Mertzon or San Angelo area. The Texas State Law Library family law guide covers custody, divorce, modification, and paternity forms that work for Irion County family court cases.

Cities in Irion County

Mertzon is the county seat and only incorporated city in Irion County. The county is primarily rural with a very small population. No cities in Irion County meet the threshold for a dedicated city page. All family court cases are filed at the Irion County Courthouse in Mertzon.

Nearby Counties

These counties border or are near Irion County in West Texas. Verify your county of residence before filing a family court case.