Awaiting Governor's Signature: SB 1 (First Called Session) -- Transfers of guardianships

Caption: Relating to certain state fiscal matters; providing penalties.
Author: Duncan, Shapiro
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: In a rarity for probate and guardianship legislation, SB1 in the First Called (Special) Session makes some changes to the guardianship portion of the Probate Code. It is primarily a school finance bill, but it has been loaded up with provisions from bills which failed to pass during the regular session. It makes a number of changes to the provisions regarding transfer of guardianship proceedings (Sections 612, 613, 614, 615, 616, 617, 618 and 619), including requiring the guardian of a guardianship that is transferred to give a new bond payable to the court to which the guardianship is transferred or to file a rider to the existing bond noting the court to which the guardianship is transferred. (Section 614) The bill also requires the court to which the guardianship is transferred to conduct a hearing within 90 days to consider modifying the rights, duties, and powers of the guardian. (Section 619) SB1 also alters the procedures for dealing with interstate guardianships (Sections 892, 893, 894 and 895). New Section 895 provides a means for a court in which a guardianship proceeding is pending to determine if it is the most appropriate forum for the guardianship. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 372 -- Perpetuities

Caption:  Relating to the rule against perpetuities.
Author:  Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:  HB 372 would modify the rule against perpetuities to permit trusts to last for 200 years.

See "Perpetuities: How about 200 years?" on texasprobate.com. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 547 -- Legal separation in a marriage

Caption:  Related to a suit for legal separation in a marriage.
Author:  Dutton
Bill History
Bill Text 

Relevance:  HB 547 would permit court-approved legal separation in a marriage and would permit the court to (a) permanently partition community property into separate property and (b) provide that future income from that property will be separate property.  HB 547 would require a constititional amendment.  Also pending is HJR 54, which proposes a constitutional amendment authorizing a court to partition community property and to characterize future earnings of spouses as separate property in the event of legal separation of the spouses.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 810 -- AG actions involving charitable trusts

Caption: Relating to jurisdiction in certain proceedings brought by the attorney general with respect to charitable trusts.
Author: Darby
Bill History
Bill Text 

Relevance:  Gives the statutory probate court of Travis County concurrent jurisdiction with another court exercising probate jurisdiction under Probate Code Section 4A in a proceeding brought by the attorney general alleging breach of fiduciary duty with respect to a charitable trust.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 836 -- Mental health services for minors

Caption: Relating to certain persons receiving mental health services.
Author: Shelton
Bill History
Bill Text 

Relevance:  This bill would permit the guardian of a person 16 years of age or older in certain circumstances to voluntarily admit the person to a public or private inpatient psychiatric facility for up to 14 days

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1209 -- Filing fees for families of first responders

Caption: Relating to a probate fee exemption for estates of certain law enforcement officers, firefighters, and others killed in the line of duty.
Author: Taylor of Galveston
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:  Eliminates probate filing fees for police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.  

The companion bill, SB 543, passed and is awaiting the governor's signature.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1325 -- Ad litem fees in guardianships

Caption:  Relating to payment of the costs for services of a guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem in a guardianship proceeding.
Author:  Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:  This bill would permit the court to order the applicant to pay ad litem fees, but only if the proposed ward's assets are insufficient. 

See "Ad litem fees and attorneys' fees in guardianships: who pays?" on texasprobate.com.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1813 -- Unvested contingent beneficiary is still a trust beneficiary

Caption: Relating to a beneficiary or interested person for the purposes of the Texas Trust Code.
Author: Phillips
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:   HB 1813 would change the definitions of "beneficiary" and "interested person" in Section 111.004 of the Trust Code to specifically include a beneficiary "whose right to benefit from the trust is contingent, regardless of whether the right to benefit from the trust is presently vested."  This language may be unnecessary, since the definition of beneficiary now in the Code means "a person for whose benefit property is held in trust, regardless of the nature of the interest." It may have an impact on the right of remote beneficiaries to demand accountings and participate in litigation, although that is not clear.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1835 -- REPTL trust bill

Caption: Relating to trusts.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Note:  While HB 1835, its companion, SB 1197, passed both houses and, as of May 19, 2011, is awaiting Governor Perry's signature.

Relevance: This bill is supported by the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and makes several minor or technical changes to the Texas Trust Code.  It:

• Contains a special extension of the disclaimer deadline to match the extension in the 2010 tax law. (Section 112.010)
• Makes a slight change in the forfeiture (in terrorem) statute -- "just cause" must have existed for bringing the action, not "probable cause." (Section 112.038)
• Allows waiver of notice of nonjudicial divisions and combinations of trusts. (Section 112.057)
• Makes clear that a county court at law exercising the jurisdiction over a trust given it by Section 4B of the Probate Code has trust jurisdiction. (Section 115.001)
• Makes venue in a trust case proper in a court in which an estate is pending. (Section 115.002)
• Removes a beneficiary whose interest has been distributed, extinguished, terminated or paid from the list of necessary parties to trust litigation. (Section 115.011)
• Makes a couple of technical changes to the Texas Uniform Principal and Income Act (Sections 116.005 and 116.205)

See "REPTL bills would make changes to trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney" on texasprobate.com. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1837 -- REPTL guardianship bill

Caption: Relating to guardianships and alternatives to guardianship for persons who have physical disabilities or who are incapacitated.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This bill is supported by the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. It makes multiple changes to the guardianship statutes in the Texas Probate Code. These include:

• Changing the guardianship jurisdiction statutes in a way that is consistent to 2009's changes to the decedents' estates jurisdiction statutes. This is related to the enactment of the new Estates Code. (Sections 601, 605, 606A, 607A, 607B, 607C, 607D, 607E, and other technical changes) 
• Clarifies that an attorney ad litem appointed in a temporary guardianship continues to serve until a permanent guardian is appointed or the guardianship application is denied. (Section 646)
• Eliminates the 5% of income and 5% of disbursement method of determining guardianship compensation in favor of a "reasonable compensation" standard. (Section 665)
• Makes it easier for the conservator of an adult disabled child to obtain a guardianship of that child. (Section 682A)
• Fixes some technical problems caused by 2009 changes to the physician's certificate requirements for guardianships. (Section 687)
• Eliminates the need to list other co-owners of property on guardianship inventories. (Sections 729 and 730)
• Clarifies that a guardianship of the estate shall be settled when all of the guardianship assets are transferred to a pooled trust subaccount. (Section 745)
• In the settlement of a guardianship estate, the attorney ad litem's fees may be taxed as costs instead of automatically coming from the ward's estate. (Section 745)
• Changes the maximum age for a guardian of a person to "voluntarily" admit the ward to an inpatient psychiatric facility from 16 to 18. (Section 770)
• Makes it possible to apply to the court for permission to transfer a portion of the ward's estate "as necessary to qualify the ward for government benefits." (Section 865)
• Permits a person with a physical disability only to apply for creation of a guardianship management trust (which may be necessary to qualify for governmental benefits). (Sections 867, 868, 868C, 869 and 870) The court cannot require the trustee of a trust created for a person with a physical disability only to file annual or final accountings. (Sections 871 and 873)
• Requires the trustee of a guardianship management trust to file an "initial accounting" (the equivalent of an inventory) within 30 days after the date a trustee receives property. (Section 870A
• Clarifies who can apply for the establishment of a pooled trust subaccount and who is eligible for a pooled trust subaccount. (Sections 910 and 911)

See "REPTL bills would make changes to trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney" on texasprobate.com. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1858 -- REPTL power of attorney bill

Caption: Relating to the creation, administration, and interpretation of powers of attorney, including statutory powers of attorney.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:  This bill is supported by the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. It is the "Durable Power of Attorney Act," which rewrites Texas law regarding durable powers of attorney. Most of these changes are based on the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act, which was adopted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 2006. It changes the statutory durable power of attorney form significantly. The changes are too numerous to mention here, but here are a few highlights:

• Powers of attorney are presumed to be durable unless they expressly terminate on disability.
• The act lists the persons who have standing to bring an action to construe a power of attorney, review an agent's conduct or grant appropriate relief.
• The point at which an agent accepts appointment is defined.
• The act provides protections for persons accepting powers of attorney and consequences for persons who don't accept a power of attorney.
• Agents are permitted to do the following only if the principal specifically authorizes these actions:
  • Create, amend, revoke, or terminate an inter vivos trust.
  • Make a gift.
  • Create or change rights of survivorship.
  • Create or change a beneficiary designation.
  • Waive the principal's right to be a beneficiary of a joint and survivor annuity.
• There's a totally new statutory durable power of attorney form, which includes a disclosure statement and a statement of the agent's duties.
• There's a new form for an agent's certification as to the validity of a power of attorney and the agent's authority.

This is a significant piece of legislation that will change power of attorney practice if it is enacted.

See "REPTL bills would make changes to trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney" on texasprobate.com. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 1934 -- Attorneys' fees of beneficiary in will contest

Caption: Relating to an allowance from a decedent's estate for devisees in and beneficiaries of a will who defend and prosecute certain proceedings relating to the will.
Author: Woolley
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: If HB 1934 passes, a beneficiary in a will contest must be successful in that litigation in order to be eligible to have his or her attorneys' fees paid from the decedent's estate. Currently, Texas Probate Code Section 243 permits the court to award attorneys' fees to an beneficiary who acts in good faith and with just cause whether successful or not.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2046 -- REPTL decedents' estates bill

Caption: Relating to decedents' estates.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:  This omnibus bill is supported by the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. It makes multiple changes to the Texas Probate Code affecting the estates of decedents. It also makes parallel changes to the new Estates Code. Changes include:

•  An option requiring only one signature of the testator and the witnesses on the will and self-proving affidavit (the old two-signature method still would be permitted). (Section 59)
• Changes to the independent administration provisions of the Probate Code in anticipation of enactment of the new Estates Code, including addressing technical issues like the power of sale and creditor claims. (Sections 145 -- 151)
• In independent administrations where there are no unpaid creditors, permitting the independent executor to deliver the inventory to the beneficiaries while filing an affidavit, not the inventory, with the court. (Section 250)
• Changing the 5% of amounts collected/5% of certain payments method of determining the compensation of personal representatives to a "reasonable compensation" standard. (Section 241)
• Confirming that a right of survivorship will not be presumed from joint ownership or joint tenancy of multi-party accounts and community property, legislatively overruling part of Holmes v. Beatty, saying "a survivorship agreement will not be inferred from the mere fact that the account is a joint account or that the account is designated JT TEN, Joint Tenancy, joint or other similar abbreviation." (Sections 439 and 452)

See "REPTL decedents' estates bill is worth a closer look" on texasprobate.com.

See "REPTL bill tweaks independent administration" on texasprobate.com. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2095 -- Genetic testing in heirships

Caption: Relating to genetic testing in certain proceedings to declare heirship.
Author: Thompson
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This bill would amend Section 53C of the Probate Code to provide that the presumption under Section 160.505 of the Family Code would apply in determining heirship if genetic testing is ordered, and that presumption can be rebutted in the same manner as provided by Section 160.505.  

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2372 -- Assignment of judges to hear recusals

Caption: Relating to the recusal or disqualification of a statutory probate court judge and subsequent assignment of another judge.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance:  In 2007, SB 406 amended Section 25.00255 of the Government Code to make the presiding judge of the administrative judicial district, not the presiding statutory probate judge, responsible for appointing judges to hear recusals of statutory probate judges and to hear the case if a statutory probate judge is recused. HB 2372 would give the presiding statutory probate judge the authority to appoint judges to hear recusals and to replace disqualified judges, but it would prohibit the presiding judge from appointing another statutory probate judge from the same county to hear recusal motions. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2657 -- Changes to 2009 Estates Code recodification (decedents' estates)

Caption: Relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted codes, to the nonsubstantive codification or disposition of various laws omitted from enacted codes, and to conforming codifications enacted by the 81st Legislature to other Acts of that legislature.
Author: King, Tracy O.
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This is a catch-all bill prepared by the Legislative Council to make corrections to various codes and to make conforming changes caused by other 2009 legislation. For probate attorneys, the most significant provisions amend those portions of the new Estates Code that reflect changes to the old Probate Code made in 2009. These changes are supposed to be nonsubstantive. The new Estates Code becomes effective January 1, 2014. 

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2744 -- Procedural changes affecting guardianships

Caption: Relating to guardianships, including the functions of the Guardianship Certification Board.
Author: Lucio
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This bill would amend 8 sections of the Probate Code to add procedural requirements in guardianships, including adding to the duties of the court investigator, requiring certain persons to be called as witnesses at hearings to appoint a guardian, adding to the list of persons entitled to notice of certain proceedings, requiring a full hearing with notice before a removed guardian is permanently replaced, and permitting a removed guardian who is a family member or friend to seek reinstatement if he or she is replaced by a private professional guardian.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2899 -- Decedents' estates

Caption: Relating to decedents' estates.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This bill makes multiple changes to the decedents' estates portion of the probate code, including repealing Section 29 of the Probate Code, which exempted executors and administrators from the requirement to file an appeal bond, clarifying that there is no statute of limitations for determining heirship, permitting unsecured creditors to initiate probate proceedings (secured creditors already were permitted to do so), prohibiting severance of dueling will applications (both applications must be heard together), tinkering with the notice requirements for removal of independent executors and addressing the disposition of property distributable from an estate to an unknown or missing person.

x-Did Not Pass: HB 2900 -- Guardianship transfers

Caption: Relating to guardianships.
Author: Hartnett
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: HB 2900 addresses transfers of guardianship (both intrastate and interstate) and the location where a hearing on a guardianship application may be held.

x-Did Not Pass: SB 261 -- Perpetuities

Caption: Relating to the rule against perpetuities.
Author:   Carona
Bill History
Bill Text 

Relevance:  HB 372 would modify the rule against perpetuities to permit trusts to last for 200 years.

See "Perpetuities: How about 200 years?" on texasprobate.com.