| 1 | 1 | | 81R6170 MTB-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Riddle H.B. No. 2843 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to certain joint accounts with rights of survivorship. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 439, Texas Probate Code, is amended by |
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| 10 | 10 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), sums [Sums] |
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| 13 | 13 | | remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account |
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| 14 | 14 | | belong to the surviving party or parties against the estate of the |
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| 15 | 15 | | decedent if, by a written agreement signed by the party who dies, |
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| 16 | 16 | | the interest of such deceased party is made to survive to the |
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| 17 | 17 | | surviving party or parties. Notwithstanding any other law, an |
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| 18 | 18 | | agreement is sufficient to confer an absolute right of survivorship |
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| 19 | 19 | | on parties to a joint account under this subsection if the agreement |
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| 20 | 20 | | states in substantially the following form: "On the death of one |
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| 21 | 21 | | party to a joint account, all sums in the account on the date of the |
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| 22 | 22 | | death vest in and belong to the surviving party as his or her |
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| 23 | 23 | | separate property and estate." A survivorship agreement will not |
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| 24 | 24 | | be inferred from the mere fact that the account is a joint account. |
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| 25 | 25 | | If there are two or more surviving parties, their respective |
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| 26 | 26 | | ownerships during lifetime shall be in proportion to their previous |
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| 27 | 27 | | ownership interests under Section 438 of this code augmented by an |
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| 28 | 28 | | equal share for each survivor of any interest the decedent may have |
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| 29 | 29 | | owned in the account immediately before his death, and the right of |
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| 30 | 30 | | survivorship continues between the surviving parties if a written |
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| 31 | 31 | | agreement signed by a party who dies so provides. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (e) Notwithstanding any other law, sums remaining on |
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| 33 | 33 | | deposit at the death of a party to a joint account with a written |
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| 34 | 34 | | agreement as described by Subsection (a) of this section belong to |
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| 35 | 35 | | the estate of the deceased party if there is one surviving party and |
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| 36 | 36 | | the surviving party is not the deceased party's beneficiary under a |
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| 37 | 37 | | will or other dispository document. In any action or proceeding |
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| 38 | 38 | | contesting the validity of the financial institution's payment of |
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| 39 | 39 | | sums under this section, the burden of proof is on the surviving |
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| 40 | 40 | | party to prove the deceased party's intent to confer a right of |
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| 41 | 41 | | survivorship on the surviving party. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 43 | 43 | | an account created on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 44 | 44 | | account created before the effective date of this Act is governed by |
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| 45 | 45 | | the law in effect when the account was created, and the former law |
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| 46 | 46 | | is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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