Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2380 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: S. Davis of Harris (Senate Sponsor - Taylor) H.B. No. 2380
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2013;
3	3	May 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on State
4	4	Affairs; May 15, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 15, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to a provision in a will or trust that would cause a
11	11	forfeiture of or void an interest for bringing any court action,
12	12	including contesting the will or trust.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	ARTICLE 1. CHANGES TO TEXAS PROBATE CODE
15	15	SECTION 1.01. Section 64, Texas Probate Code, is amended to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	Sec. 64. FORFEITURE CLAUSE. A provision in a will that
18	18	would cause a forfeiture of or void a devise or provision in favor
19	19	of a person for bringing any court action, including contesting a
20	20	will, is enforceable unless in a court action determining whether
21	21	the forfeiture clause should be enforced, the person who brought
22	22	the action contrary to the forfeiture clause establishes by a
23	23	preponderance of the evidence that [unenforceable if]:
24	24	(1) just cause existed for bringing the action; and
25	25	(2) the action was brought and maintained in good
26	26	faith.
27	27	ARTICLE 2. CHANGES TO ESTATES CODE
28	28	SECTION 2.01. Section 254.005, Estates Code, as effective
29	29	January 1, 2014, is amended to read as follows:
30	30	Sec. 254.005. FORFEITURE CLAUSE. A provision in a will
31	31	that would cause a forfeiture of or void a devise or provision in
32	32	favor of a person for bringing any court action, including
33	33	contesting a will, is enforceable unless in a court action
34	34	determining whether the forfeiture clause should be enforced, the
35	35	person who brought the action contrary to the forfeiture clause
36	36	establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that [unenforceable
37	37	if]:
38	38	(1) just cause existed for bringing the action; and
39	39	(2) the action was brought and maintained in good
40	40	faith.
41	41	SECTION 2.02. Section 64, Texas Probate Code, as amended by
42	42	Article 1 of this Act, is repealed.
43	43	SECTION 2.03. This article takes effect January 1, 2014.
44	44	ARTICLE 3. CHANGES TO PROPERTY CODE
45	45	SECTION 3.01. Section 112.038, Property Code, is amended to
46	46	read as follows:
47	47	Sec. 112.038. FORFEITURE CLAUSE. A provision in a trust
48	48	that would cause a forfeiture of or void an interest for bringing
49	49	any court action, including contesting a trust, is enforceable
50	50	unless in a court action determining whether the forfeiture clause
51	51	should be enforced, the person who brought the action contrary to
52	52	the forfeiture clause establishes by a preponderance of the
53	53	evidence that [unenforceable if]:
54	54	(1) just cause existed for bringing the action; and
55	55	(2) the action was brought and maintained in good
56	56	faith.
57	57	SECTION 3.02. Section 112.038, Property Code, as amended by
58	58	this Act, applies to a court action commenced on or after the
59	59	effective date of this Act. An action commenced before the
60	60	effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the
61	61	action immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that
62	62	law is continued in effect for that purpose.
63	63	ARTICLE 4. EFFECTIVE DATE
64	64	SECTION 4.01. Except as otherwise provided by this Act,
65	65	this Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
66	66	* * * * *