81R6170 MTB-D
By: Riddle H.B. No. 2843
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain joint accounts with rights of survivorship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 439, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), sums [Sums]
remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account
belong to the surviving party or parties against the estate of the
decedent if, by a written agreement signed by the party who dies,
the interest of such deceased party is made to survive to the
surviving party or parties. Notwithstanding any other law, an
agreement is sufficient to confer an absolute right of survivorship
on parties to a joint account under this subsection if the agreement
states in substantially the following form: "On the death of one
party to a joint account, all sums in the account on the date of the
death vest in and belong to the surviving party as his or her
separate property and estate." A survivorship agreement will not
be inferred from the mere fact that the account is a joint account.
If there are two or more surviving parties, their respective
ownerships during lifetime shall be in proportion to their previous
ownership interests under Section 438 of this code augmented by an
equal share for each survivor of any interest the decedent may have
owned in the account immediately before his death, and the right of
survivorship continues between the surviving parties if a written
agreement signed by a party who dies so provides.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, sums remaining on
deposit at the death of a party to a joint account with a written
agreement as described by Subsection (a) of this section belong to
the estate of the deceased party if there is one surviving party and
the surviving party is not the deceased party's beneficiary under a
will or other dispository document. In any action or proceeding
contesting the validity of the financial institution's payment of
sums under this section, the burden of proof is on the surviving
party to prove the deceased party's intent to confer a right of
survivorship on the surviving party.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an account created on or after the effective date of this Act. An
account created before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect when the account was created, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.