84R333 CLG-D
By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 2733
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to payment and reimbursement of court costs in a
guardianship proceeding.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1155.151, Estates Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(a-2), (d), and (e) to read as follows:
(a) In a guardianship proceeding, the court costs of the
proceeding, including the costs described by Subsection (a-1) [cost
of the guardians ad litem, attorneys ad litem, court visitor,
mental health professionals, and interpreters appointed under this
title, shall be set in an amount the court considers equitable and
just and, except as provided by Subsection (c)], shall, except as
provided by Subsection (c), be paid as follows [out of the
guardianship estate, or the county treasury if the estate is
insufficient to pay the cost], and the court shall issue the
judgment accordingly:
(1) out of the guardianship estate;
(2) by the party to the proceeding who incurred the
costs unless that party filed, on the party's own behalf, an
affidavit of inability to pay the costs under Rule 145, Texas Rules
of Civil Procedure, if:
(A) there is no guardianship estate; or
(B) the guardianship estate is insufficient to
pay the costs; or
(3) out of the county treasury if:
(A) there is no guardianship estate or the
guardianship estate is insufficient to pay the costs; and
(B) the party to the proceeding who incurred the
costs filed, on the party's own behalf, an affidavit of inability to
pay the costs under Rule 145, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(a-1) In a guardianship proceeding, the cost of any
guardians ad litem, attorneys ad litem, court visitors, mental
health professionals, and interpreters appointed under this title
shall be set in an amount the court considers equitable and just.
(a-2) Notwithstanding any other law requiring the payment
of court costs in a guardianship proceeding, the following are not
required to pay court costs on the filing of or during a
guardianship proceeding:
(1) an attorney ad litem;
(2) a guardian ad litem;
(3) a person or entity who files an affidavit of
inability to pay under Rule 145, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
(4) a nonprofit guardianship program;
(5) a governmental entity; and
(6) a government agency or nonprofit agency providing
guardianship services.
(b) The costs attributable to the services of a person
described by Subsection (a-1) [(a)] shall be paid under this
section at any time after the commencement of the proceeding as
ordered by the court.
(d) If a guardianship of the estate is created, a person or
entity who paid any costs on the filing of the proceeding is
entitled to be reimbursed out of the guardianship estate for the
costs if:
(1) the assets of the estate are sufficient to cover
the reimbursement of the costs; and
(2) the person or entity has not been ordered by the
court to pay the costs as all or part of the payment of court costs
under Subsection (c).
(e) If at any time after a guardianship of the estate is
created there are sufficient estate assets to pay the amount of any
of the costs exempt from payment under Subsection (a-2), the court
shall require the guardian to pay out of the guardianship estate to
the court clerk for deposit in the county treasury the amount of any
of those costs.
SECTION 2. Sections 1052.051(d), (e), and (f), Estates
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a guardianship proceeding filed on or after the effective date of
this Act. A guardianship proceeding filed before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
proceeding was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.