81R31191 KKA-F
By: Wentworth S.B. No. 431
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 431:
By: Alonzo C.S.S.B. No. 431
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the enforcement of unpaid child support.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 157.311(1), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(1) "Account" means:
(A) any type of a demand deposit account,
checking or negotiable withdrawal order account, savings account,
time deposit account, money market mutual fund account, certificate
of deposit, or any other instrument of deposit in which an
individual, as a signatory or not, has a beneficial ownership
interest either in its entirety or on a shared or multiple party
basis, including any accrued interest and dividends, and in which:
(i) the obligor has a community or separate
property interest; or
(ii) funds are held for the obligor's
benefit, regardless of whether the funds are held in the name of a
nominal owner other than the obligor; and
(B) a life insurance policy in which an
individual has a beneficial ownership or liability insurance
against which an individual has filed a claim or counterclaim.
SECTION 2. Section 157.313, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) In addition to the information required under
Subsection (a), a child support lien notice sent to a financial
institution that applies to assets of a specified third party or
nominal owner must contain the social security number, tax
identification number, or account number of the third party or
nominal owner.
SECTION 3. Section 157.314, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(d) If a child support lien notice is delivered to a
financial institution with respect to an account of the obligor,
the institution shall immediately:
(1) provide the claimant with the last known address
of the obligor and disclose to the claimant the amount in the
account at the time of receipt of the notice; and
(2) notify any other person having an ownership
interest in the account that the account has been frozen in an
amount not to exceed the amount of the child support arrearage
identified in the notice.
(e) On request, until the lien is satisfied, a financial
institution to which a child support lien notice has been delivered
shall provide the claimant with a statement showing all deposits
and withdrawals involving the obligor's account that occurred from
the date and time of receipt of the child support lien notice to the
date of receipt of the request for information.
SECTION 4. Section 157.327, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), and (f) and adding Subsections
(b-1), (g), (h), and (i) to read as follows:
(b) The notice under this section must:
(1) identify the amount of child support arrearages
owing at the time the amount of arrearages was determined or, if the
amount is less, the amount of arrearages owing at the time the
notice is prepared and delivered to the financial institution; and
(2) direct the financial institution to pay to the
claimant, not earlier than the 15th day or later than the 21st day
after the date of delivery of the notice, an amount from the assets
of the obligor or from funds due to the obligor at the time the levy
is paid that are held or controlled by the institution or that
should have been frozen by the institution, not to exceed the amount
of the child support arrearages identified in the notice, unless:
(A) the institution is notified by the claimant
that the obligor has paid the arrearages or made arrangements
satisfactory to the claimant for the payment of the arrearages;
(B) the obligor or another person claiming an
ownership interest in the account files, not later than the 10th day
after the date of delivery of the notice required by Section
157.328, a suit under Section 157.323 or a motion under Subsection
(g) requesting a hearing by the court; or
(C) if the claimant is the Title IV-D agency, the
obligor has requested an agency review under Section 157.328.
(b-1) A notice of levy delivered to a financial institution
that applies to assets or funds of a specified third party or
nominal owner must include the social security number, tax
identification number, or account number of the third party or
nominal owner.
(c) A financial institution that receives a notice of levy
under this section may not close an account in which the obligor has
a beneficial [an] ownership interest, permit a withdrawal from any
account the obligor owns, in whole or in part, or pay funds to the
obligor or a nominal owner so that any amount remaining in the
account is less than the amount of the arrearages identified in the
notice, plus any fees due to the institution and any costs of the
levy identified by the claimant.
(f) A financial institution may collect any fees and costs
identified in Subsection (c) from the obligor but may not, except as
otherwise provided by this subsection, deduct those [the] fees and
costs [identified in Subsection (c)] from the obligor's assets
before paying the appropriate amount to the claimant. A financial
institution may deduct the following fees before paying the
appropriate amount to the claimant:
(1) a reasonable processing fee; and
(2) a fee associated with early withdrawal of funds
from a certificate of deposit or other interest-bearing account
before the applicable maturity date.
(g) If a timely motion is filed by a person claiming an
ownership interest in the account, other than the obligor, the
court, after giving notice to all interested parties, shall hold a
hearing to determine the extent, if any, to which the account
contains assets of the obligor that are subject to levy for a child
support lien under this subchapter. After the hearing:
(1) if the court determines that the account contains
any of the obligor's assets that are subject to levy, the court
shall specify the amount in the account subject to levy and order
that amount to be applied against child support arrearages owed by
the obligor; or
(2) if the court determines that the account does not
contain any of the obligor's assets that are subject to levy, the
court shall order the release of the child support lien on which the
levy was based.
(h) A financial institution that surrenders assets in
compliance with a court order under Subsection (g)(1) is not liable
to the obligor, the account holder, or any other person for the
assets surrendered.
(i) This subsection applies if a financial institution
receives a notice of levy under this section with regard to an
account for which the obligor is not included on the title or listed
as a signatory. If a person claiming ownership in the account,
other than the obligor, successfully establishes in a suit under
Section 157.323 or a hearing under Subsection (g) that the obligor
did not have any ownership interest in the account, the person may
recover costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred against the
claimant.
SECTION 5. Section 34.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) This section does not apply to a child support judgment
or any other child support collection remedy authorized by the
Family Code.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
157.311 and 157.313, Family Code, apply only to a child support lien
notice filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A child
support lien notice filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the lien notice was filed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
157.314 and 157.327(f), Family Code, apply only to a financial
institution that receives a lien notice or notice of levy under
those sections on or after the effective date of this Act. A
financial institution that receives a lien notice or notice of levy
under those sections before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the lien notice or notice
of levy is received, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 8. Sections 157.327(b-1), (g), (h), and (i), Family
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a notice of levy delivered
on or after the effective date of this Act. A notice of levy
delivered before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect on the date the notice of levy is delivered, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
34.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, apply to each child
support judgment or collection remedy, regardless of the date on
which the judgment is rendered or the remedy is sought.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.