2011 Legislation

The 82nd Texas Legislature ended its regular session May 30, 2011. All probate, guardianship and trust bills passed during the session have been signed by the Governor, and most become effective September 1, 2011. One bill in the first called session (SB 1) contains guardianship changes and, as of July 8, 2011, was awaiting the Governor's signature. Each bill affecting probate, guardianship and trust law is listed below. Click here to search for a particular bill, or use the list of topics and key words to the right to find legislation.

Useful links:

Texas Legislature Online.
Glenn Karisch's 2011 Legislative Update.
Bill Pargaman's 2011 Legislative Update -- All of the bills, the full text of all of the changes to the probate and trust codes and helpful forms.
Top Ten Things to Do Now -- Glenn Karisch's list of ten things estate planning and probate attorneys should do to address the legislative changes taking effect September 1, 2011. Here are the pdf and blog versions.

All bills are labeled "Awaiting Governor's Signature," "Enacted," or "Did Not Pass."
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Entries in West (3)

Tuesday

Mar082011

Enacted-Effective 9/1/11: SB 1303 -- 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: West
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.

4 References |

Enacted-Effective 9/1/11: SB 1368 -- Authority of co-owner to encumber homestead property without consent of other co-owners

Caption: Relating to the authority of a co-owner of residential property to encumber the property.
Author: West
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This bill allows a co-owner of residential property claimed as the co-owner's homestead to place a lien on the property in certain circumstances. The debt secured by the lien would be solely the obligation of the co-owner, but other co-owners could not repudiate or disaffirm the lien. This bill is intended to permit a co-owner who has paid all of the taxes on a property to create a lien to improve or preserve that property without the consent of other co-owners. This could come in handy in the case of property passing by intestacy to multiple heirs where only one heir occupies the property.

x-Did Not Pass: SB 473 -- Adverse possession by cotenant heir

Caption: Relating to adverse possession of real property by a cotenant heir against other cotenant heirs.
Author: West
Bill History
Bill Text

Relevance: This permits a "cotenant heir" -- one of two or more persons who simultaneously acquire ownership in the same real property through intestacy, or a successor in interest to one of those persons -- to obtain clear title through adverse possesion if procedural steps are followed.

Sen. West also authored SB 1368, which would permit a cotenant to create a mechanic's and materialman's lien on residential property as "agent" for unknown or unresponsive cotenants.

7 References |