Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3350 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hartnett (Senate Sponsor - Watson) H.B. No. 3350
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2009;
3	3	May 19, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on
4	4	Jurisprudence; May 23, 2009, reported favorably by the following
5	5	vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 23, 2009, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to decedents' estates.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 59, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (b) to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	(a-1) As an alternative to the self-proving of a last will
16	16	and testament by the affidavits of the testator and the attesting
17	17	witnesses under Subsection (a) of this section, a last will and
18	18	testament may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made
19	19	self-proved before an officer authorized to administer oaths under
20	20	the laws of this state, and the testimony of the witnesses in the
21	21	probate of the will and testament may be made unnecessary, with the
22	22	inclusion in the will and testament of the following in form and
23	23	contents substantially as follows:
24	24	I, ______________________, as testator, after being duly
25	25	sworn, declare to the undersigned witnesses and to the undersigned
26	26	authority that this instrument is my last will and testament, that I
27	27	have willingly made and executed it in the presence of the
28	28	undersigned witnesses, all of whom were present at the same time, as
29	29	my free act and deed, and that I have requested each of the
30	30	undersigned witnesses to sign this will and testament in my
31	31	presence and in the presence of each other. I now sign this will and
32	32	testament in the presence of the attesting witnesses and the
33	33	undersigned authority on this ______ day of __________,
34	34	20________________.
35	35	____________________________________
36	36	Testator
37	37	The undersigned, __________ and __________, each being above
38	38	fourteen years of age, after being duly sworn, declare to the
39	39	testator and to the undersigned authority that the testator
40	40	declared to us that this instrument is the testator's last will and
41	41	testament and that the testator requested us to act as witnesses to
42	42	the testator's will and testament and signature. The testator then
43	43	signed this will and testament in our presence, all of us being
44	44	present at the same time. The testator is eighteen years of age or
45	45	over (or being under such age, is or has been lawfully married, or
46	46	is a member of the armed forces of the United States or of an
47	47	auxiliary thereof or of the Maritime Service), and we believe the
48	48	testator to be of sound mind. We now sign our names as attesting
49	49	witnesses in the presence of the testator, each other, and the
50	50	undersigned authority on this __________ day of __________,
51	51	20______________.
52	52	___________________________
53	53	Witness
54	54	___________________________
55	55	Witness
56	56	Subscribed and sworn to before me by the said _________,
57	57	testator, and by the said _____________ and ______________,
58	58	witnesses, this _____ day of __________, 20____________.
59	59	(SEAL)
60	60	(Signed)
61	61	(Official Capacity of Officer)
62	62	(b) An affidavit in form and content substantially as
63	63	provided by Subsection (a) of this section is a "self-proving
64	64	affidavit." A will with a self-proving affidavit subscribed and
65	65	sworn to by the testator and witnesses attached or annexed to the
66	66	will, or a will simultaneously executed, attested, and made
67	67	self-proved as provided by Subsection (a-1) of this section, is a
68	68	"self-proved will." Substantial compliance with the form of the
69	69	affidavit provided by Subsection (a) of this section [form of such
70	70	affidavit] shall suffice to cause the will to be self-proved. For
71	71	this purpose, an affidavit that is subscribed and acknowledged by
72	72	the testator and subscribed and sworn to by the witnesses would
73	73	suffice as being in substantial compliance. A signature on a
74	74	self-proving affidavit as provided by Subsection (a) of this
75	75	section is considered a signature to the will if necessary to prove
76	76	that the will was signed by the testator or witnesses, or both, but
77	77	in that case, the will may not be considered a self-proved will.
78	78	SECTION 2. Section 471, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
79	79	adding Subdivisions (1-a), (2-a), and (2-b) and amending
80	80	Subdivision (2) to read as follows:
81	81	(1-a) "Dissolution" means the termination of a marriage
82	82	by divorce, annulment, or a declaration that the marriage is void.
83	83	(2) "Divorced individual" means an individual whose
84	84	marriage has been dissolved[, regardless of whether by divorce or
85	85	annulment].
86	86	(2-a) "Relative" means an individual who is related to
87	87	another individual by consanguinity or affinity, as determined
88	88	under Sections 573.022 and 573.024, Government Code, respectively.
89	89	(2-b) "Relative of the former spouse" means a relative
90	90	of the former spouse who is not a relative of the divorced
91	91	individual.
92	92	SECTION 3. Chapter XI-A, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
93	93	adding Section 471A to read as follows:
94	94	Sec. 471A. DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE. For the purposes of
95	95	this chapter, a marriage has been "dissolved" if the marriage
96	96	terminates as a result of dissolution.
97	97	SECTION 4. Sections 472 and 473, Texas Probate Code, are
98	98	amended to read as follows:
99	99	Sec. 472. REVOCATION OF CERTAIN NONTESTAMENTARY TRANSFERS
100	100	ON DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by a
101	101	premarital agreement or marital property agreement or by a court
102	102	order that is a final judgment, including a judgment dissolving the
103	103	marriage and dividing marital property and an order for payment of
104	104	child support in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship,
105	105	the express terms of a trust instrument executed by a divorced
106	106	individual before the individual's marriage was dissolved, or an
107	107	express provision of a contract relating to the division of the
108	108	marital estate entered into between a divorced individual and the
109	109	individual's former spouse before, during, or after the marriage,
110	110	the dissolution of the marriage revokes the following:
111	111	(1) a revocable disposition or appointment of property
112	112	made by a divorced individual to the individual's former spouse or
113	113	any relative of the former spouse in a trust instrument executed
114	114	before the dissolution of the marriage;
115	115	(2) a provision in a trust instrument executed by a
116	116	divorced individual before the dissolution of the marriage that
117	117	confers a general or special power of appointment on the
118	118	individual's former spouse or any relative of the former spouse;
119	119	and
120	120	(3) a nomination in a trust instrument executed by a
121	121	divorced individual before the dissolution of the marriage that
122	122	nominates the individual's former spouse or any relative of the
123	123	former spouse to serve in a fiduciary or representative capacity,
124	124	including as a personal representative, executor, trustee,
125	125	conservator, agent, or guardian.
126	126	(b) After the dissolution of a marriage, an interest granted
127	127	in a provision of a trust instrument that is revoked under
128	128	Subsection (a)(1) or (2) of this section passes as if the former
129	129	spouse of the divorced individual who executed the trust instrument
130	130	or any relative of the former spouse, as applicable, disclaimed the
131	131	interest granted in the provision, and an interest granted in a
132	132	provision of a trust instrument that is revoked under Subsection
133	133	(a)(3) of this section passes as if the former spouse or any
134	134	relative of the former spouse, as applicable, died immediately
135	135	before the dissolution of the marriage.
136	136	Sec. 473. LIABILITY FOR CERTAIN PAYMENTS, BENEFITS, AND
137	137	PROPERTY. (a) A bona fide purchaser of property from a divorced
138	138	individual's former spouse or any relative of the former spouse or a
139	139	person who receives from a divorced individual's former spouse or
140	140	any relative of the former spouse a payment, benefit, or property in
141	141	partial or full satisfaction of an enforceable obligation:
142	142	(1) is not required by this chapter to return the
143	143	payment, benefit, or property; and
144	144	(2) is not liable under this chapter for the amount of
145	145	the payment or the value of the property or benefit.
146	146	(b) A divorced individual's former spouse or any relative of
147	147	the former spouse who, not for value, receives a payment, benefit,
148	148	or property to which the former spouse or the relative of the former
149	149	spouse is not entitled as a result of Section 472(a) of this code:
150	150	(1) shall return the payment, benefit, or property to
151	151	the person who is otherwise entitled to the payment, benefit, or
152	152	property as provided by this chapter; or
153	153	(2) is personally liable to the person described by
154	154	Subdivision (1) of this subsection for the amount of the payment or
155	155	the value of the benefit or property received.
156	156	SECTION 5. Section 70, Texas Probate Code, is repealed.
157	157	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
158	158	471, 472, and 473, Texas Probate Code, as amended by this Act, and
159	159	Section 471A, Texas Probate Code, as added by this Act, apply only
160	160	to a divorced individual who dies on or after the effective date of
161	161	this Act.
162	162	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
163	163	* * * * *