Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB431 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R31191 KKA-F
2	2	By: Wentworth S.B. No. 431
3	3	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 431:
4	4	By: Alonzo C.S.S.B. No. 431
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the enforcement of unpaid child support.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 157.311(1), Family Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(1) "Account" means:
14	14	(A) any type of a demand deposit account,
15	15	checking or negotiable withdrawal order account, savings account,
16	16	time deposit account, money market mutual fund account, certificate
17	17	of deposit, or any other instrument of deposit in which an
18	18	individual, as a signatory or not, has a beneficial ownership
19	19	interest either in its entirety or on a shared or multiple party
20	20	basis, including any accrued interest and dividends, and in which:
21	21	(i) the obligor has a community or separate
22	22	property interest; or
23	23	(ii) funds are held for the obligor's
24	24	benefit, regardless of whether the funds are held in the name of a
25	25	nominal owner other than the obligor; and
26	26	(B) a life insurance policy in which an
27	27	individual has a beneficial ownership or liability insurance
28	28	against which an individual has filed a claim or counterclaim.
29	29	SECTION 2. Section 157.313, Family Code, is amended by
30	30	adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
31	31	(a-1) In addition to the information required under
32	32	Subsection (a), a child support lien notice sent to a financial
33	33	institution that applies to assets of a specified third party or
34	34	nominal owner must contain the social security number, tax
35	35	identification number, or account number of the third party or
36	36	nominal owner.
37	37	SECTION 3. Section 157.314, Family Code, is amended by
38	38	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
39	39	follows:
40	40	(d) If a child support lien notice is delivered to a
41	41	financial institution with respect to an account of the obligor,
42	42	the institution shall immediately:
43	43	(1) provide the claimant with the last known address
44	44	of the obligor and disclose to the claimant the amount in the
45	45	account at the time of receipt of the notice; and
46	46	(2) notify any other person having an ownership
47	47	interest in the account that the account has been frozen in an
48	48	amount not to exceed the amount of the child support arrearage
49	49	identified in the notice.
50	50	(e) On request, until the lien is satisfied, a financial
51	51	institution to which a child support lien notice has been delivered
52	52	shall provide the claimant with a statement showing all deposits
53	53	and withdrawals involving the obligor's account that occurred from
54	54	the date and time of receipt of the child support lien notice to the
55	55	date of receipt of the request for information.
56	56	SECTION 4. Section 157.327, Family Code, is amended by
57	57	amending Subsections (b), (c), and (f) and adding Subsections
58	58	(b-1), (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
59	59	(b) The notice under this section must:
60	60	(1) identify the amount of child support arrearages
61	61	owing at the time the amount of arrearages was determined or, if the
62	62	amount is less, the amount of arrearages owing at the time the
63	63	notice is prepared and delivered to the financial institution; and
64	64	(2) direct the financial institution to pay to the
65	65	claimant, not earlier than the 15th day or later than the 21st day
66	66	after the date of delivery of the notice, an amount from the assets
67	67	of the obligor or from funds due to the obligor at the time the levy
68	68	is paid that are held or controlled by the institution or that
69	69	should have been frozen by the institution, not to exceed the amount
70	70	of the child support arrearages identified in the notice, unless:
71	71	(A) the institution is notified by the claimant
72	72	that the obligor has paid the arrearages or made arrangements
73	73	satisfactory to the claimant for the payment of the arrearages;
74	74	(B) the obligor or another person claiming an
75	75	ownership interest in the account files, not later than the 10th day
76	76	after the date of delivery of the notice required by Section
77	77	157.328, a suit under Section 157.323 or a motion under Subsection
78	78	(g) requesting a hearing by the court; or
79	79	(C) if the claimant is the Title IV-D agency, the
80	80	obligor has requested an agency review under Section 157.328.
81	81	(b-1) A notice of levy delivered to a financial institution
82	82	that applies to assets or funds of a specified third party or
83	83	nominal owner must include the social security number, tax
84	84	identification number, or account number of the third party or
85	85	nominal owner.
86	86	(c) A financial institution that receives a notice of levy
87	87	under this section may not close an account in which the obligor has
88	88	a beneficial [an] ownership interest, permit a withdrawal from any
89	89	account the obligor owns, in whole or in part, or pay funds to the
90	90	obligor or a nominal owner so that any amount remaining in the
91	91	account is less than the amount of the arrearages identified in the
92	92	notice, plus any fees due to the institution and any costs of the
93	93	levy identified by the claimant.
94	94	(f) A financial institution may collect any fees and costs
95	95	identified in Subsection (c) from the obligor but may not, except as
96	96	otherwise provided by this subsection, deduct those [the] fees and
97	97	costs [identified in Subsection (c)] from the obligor's assets
98	98	before paying the appropriate amount to the claimant. A financial
99	99	institution may deduct the following fees before paying the
100	100	appropriate amount to the claimant:
101	101	(1) a reasonable processing fee; and
102	102	(2) a fee associated with early withdrawal of funds
103	103	from a certificate of deposit or other interest-bearing account
104	104	before the applicable maturity date.
105	105	(g) If a timely motion is filed by a person claiming an
106	106	ownership interest in the account, other than the obligor, the
107	107	court, after giving notice to all interested parties, shall hold a
108	108	hearing to determine the extent, if any, to which the account
109	109	contains assets of the obligor that are subject to levy for a child
110	110	support lien under this subchapter. After the hearing:
111	111	(1) if the court determines that the account contains
112	112	any of the obligor's assets that are subject to levy, the court
113	113	shall specify the amount in the account subject to levy and order
114	114	that amount to be applied against child support arrearages owed by
115	115	the obligor; or
116	116	(2) if the court determines that the account does not
117	117	contain any of the obligor's assets that are subject to levy, the
118	118	court shall order the release of the child support lien on which the
119	119	levy was based.
120	120	(h) A financial institution that surrenders assets in
121	121	compliance with a court order under Subsection (g)(1) is not liable
122	122	to the obligor, the account holder, or any other person for the
123	123	assets surrendered.
124	124	(i) This subsection applies if a financial institution
125	125	receives a notice of levy under this section with regard to an
126	126	account for which the obligor is not included on the title or listed
127	127	as a signatory. If a person claiming ownership in the account,
128	128	other than the obligor, successfully establishes in a suit under
129	129	Section 157.323 or a hearing under Subsection (g) that the obligor
130	130	did not have any ownership interest in the account, the person may
131	131	recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred against the
132	132	claimant.
133	133	SECTION 5. Section 34.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
134	134	Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
135	135	(c) This section does not apply to a child support judgment
136	136	or any other child support collection remedy authorized by the
137	137	Family Code.
138	138	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
139	139	157.311 and 157.313, Family Code, apply only to a child support lien
140	140	notice filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A child
141	141	support lien notice filed before the effective date of this Act is
142	142	governed by the law in effect on the date the lien notice was filed,
143	143	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
144	144	SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
145	145	157.314 and 157.327(f), Family Code, apply only to a financial
146	146	institution that receives a lien notice or notice of levy under
147	147	those sections on or after the effective date of this Act. A
148	148	financial institution that receives a lien notice or notice of levy
149	149	under those sections before the effective date of this Act is
150	150	governed by the law in effect on the date the lien notice or notice
151	151	of levy is received, and the former law is continued in effect for
152	152	that purpose.
153	153	SECTION 8. Sections 157.327(b-1), (g), (h), and (i), Family
154	154	Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a notice of levy delivered
155	155	on or after the effective date of this Act. A notice of levy
156	156	delivered before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
157	157	law in effect on the date the notice of levy is delivered, and the
158	158	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
159	159	SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
160	160	34.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, apply to each child
161	161	support judgment or collection remedy, regardless of the date on
162	162	which the judgment is rendered or the remedy is sought.
163	163	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.