By: Harris S.B. No. 481
(Jackson)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the removal of a guardian of an incapacitated person
ordered by a court.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 761, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) The court clerk shall issue notice of an order
rendered by the court removing a guardian under Subsection (a)(1),
(2), (3), (4), (6), (7), or (8) of this section. The notice must:
(1) state the names of the ward and the removed
guardian;
(2) state the date the court signed the order of
removal;
(3) contain the following statement printed in
12-point bold font:
"If you have been removed from serving as guardian under
Section 761(a)(6) or (7), Texas Probate Code, you have the right to
contest the order of removal by filing an application with the court
for a hearing under Section 762, Texas Probate Code, to determine
whether you should be reinstated as guardian. The application must
be filed not later than the 30th day after the date the court signed
the order of removal.";
(4) contain as an attachment a copy of the order of
removal; and
(5) be personally served on the removed guardian not
later than the seventh day after the date the court signed the order
of removal.
SECTION 2. Subsections (a), (c), and (d), Section 762,
Texas Probate Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the 30th [10th] day after the date the
court signs the order of removal, a guardian [personal
representative] who is removed under Section 761(a)(6) [Subsection
(a)(6)] or (7)[, Section 761,] of this code may file an application
with the court for a hearing to determine whether the guardian
[personal representative] should be reinstated.
(c) The court shall hold a hearing on an application for
reinstatement under this section as soon as practicable after the
application is filed, but not later than the 60th day after the date
the court signed the order of removal. If, at the conclusion of the
[a] hearing [under this section], the court is satisfied by a
preponderance of the evidence that the applicant did not engage in
the conduct that directly led to the applicant's removal, the court
shall set aside an order appointing a successor guardian
[representative], if any, and shall enter an order reinstating the
applicant as guardian [personal representative] of the ward or
estate.
(d) If the court sets aside the appointment of a successor
guardian [representative] under this section, the court may require
the successor guardian [representative] to prepare and file, under
oath, an accounting of the estate and to detail the disposition the
successor has made of the property of the estate.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
761 and 762, Texas Probate Code, apply only to a removal of a
guardian ordered by a court on or after the effective date of this
Act. A removal of a guardian ordered by a court before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the order was rendered, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.