Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1753 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		85R18652 MTB-F
2	2		By: Farrar, Smithee, Neave H.B. No. 1753
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1753:
4		-	By: Farrar C.S.H.B. No. 1753
5	3
6	4
7	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	6		AN ACT
9	7		relating to authorizing a beneficiary designation that transfers a
10	8		motor vehicle at the owner's death.
11	9		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	10		SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Estates Code, is amended by
13	11		adding Chapter 115 to read as follows:
14	12		CHAPTER 115. BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLES
15	13		Sec. 115.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	14		(1) "Beneficiary designation" means the designation
17	15		by an owner of a motor vehicle of a beneficiary of the vehicle as
18	16		provided by Section 501.0315, Transportation Code.
19	17		(2) "Designated beneficiary" means a person
20	18		designated as a beneficiary of an owner's interest in a motor
21	19		vehicle under Section 501.0315, Transportation Code.
22	20		(3) "Joint owner with right of survivorship" or "joint
23	21		owner" means a person who owns a motor vehicle concurrently with one
24	22		or more other persons with a right of survivorship. The term does
25	23		not include an owner of community property with or without a right
26	24		of survivorship.
27	25		(4) "Motor vehicle" has the meaning assigned by
28	26		Section 501.002, Transportation Code.
29	27		(5) "Person" has the meaning assigned by Section
30	28		311.005, Government Code.
31	29		Sec. 115.002. BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION AUTHORIZED. (a) An
32	30		owner of a motor vehicle may transfer the owner's interest in the
33	31		motor vehicle to a sole beneficiary effective on the owner's death
34	32		by designating a beneficiary as provided by Section 501.0315,
35	33		Transportation Code.
36	34		(b) A beneficiary designation is:
37	35		(1) subject to Section 115.003(b), revocable and may
38	36		be changed at any time without the consent of the designated
39	37		beneficiary as provided by Section 501.0315, Transportation Code;
40	38		(2) a nontestamentary instrument; and
41	39		(3) effective without:
42	40		(A) notice or delivery to or acceptance by the
43	41		designated beneficiary during the owner's life; or
44	42		(B) consideration.
45	43		(c) A will may not revoke or supersede a beneficiary
46	44		designation, regardless of when the will is made.
47	45		(d) A designated beneficiary may disclaim the designated
48	46		beneficiary's interest in the motor vehicle as provided by Chapter
49	47		240, Property Code.
50	48		Sec. 115.003. JOINT OWNERSHIP. (a) If a motor vehicle that
51	49		is the subject of a beneficiary designation is owned by joint owners
52	50		with right of survivorship, the beneficiary designation must be
53	51		made by all of the joint owners.
54	52		(b) A beneficiary designation made by joint owners with
55	53		right of survivorship:
56	54		(1) may be revoked or changed as provided by Section
57	55		501.0315, Transportation Code, only if it is revoked or changed by
58	56		all of the joint owners; and
59	57		(2) may be revoked or changed by the last surviving
60	58		joint owner as provided by Section 501.0315, Transportation Code.
61	59		Sec. 115.004. EFFECT OF BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION DURING
62	60		OWNER'S LIFE. During a motor vehicle owner's life, a beneficiary
63	61		designation does not:
64	62		(1) affect an interest or right of the owner or owners
65	63		making the designation, including the right to transfer or
66	64		encumber the motor vehicle that is the subject of the designation;
67	65		(2) create a legal or equitable interest in favor of
68	66		the designated beneficiary in the motor vehicle that is the subject
69	67		of the designation, even if the beneficiary has actual or
70	68		constructive notice of the designation;
71	69		(3) affect an interest or right of a secured or
72	70		unsecured creditor or future creditor of the owner or owners making
73	71		the designation, even if the creditor has actual or constructive
74	72		notice of the designation; or
75	73		(4) affect an owner's or the designated beneficiary's
76	74		eligibility for any form of public assistance, subject to
77	75		applicable federal law.
78	76		Sec. 115.005. EFFECT OF BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION AT OWNER'S
79	77		OR LAST SURVIVING OWNER'S DEATH. (a) On the death of the owner of a
80	78		motor vehicle that is the subject of a beneficiary designation, the
81	79		following rules apply to an interest in the motor vehicle:
82	80		(1) if the designated beneficiary survives the owner
83	81		making the designation by 120 hours, the interest in the motor
84	82		vehicle is transferred to the designated beneficiary; and
85	83		(2) if the designated beneficiary fails to survive the
86	84		owner making the designation by 120 hours, the share of the
87	85		designated beneficiary lapses, notwithstanding Section 111.052,
88	86		and is subject to and passes in accordance with Subchapter D,
89	87		Chapter 255, as if the beneficiary designation were a devise made in
90	88		a will.
91	89		(b) If an owner is a joint owner with right of survivorship
92	90		who is survived by one or more other joint owners, the motor vehicle
93	91		that is the subject of the beneficiary designation belongs to the
94	92		surviving joint owner or owners. If an owner is a joint owner with
95	93		right of survivorship who is the last surviving joint owner, the
96	94		beneficiary designation is effective.
97	95		(c) A designated beneficiary takes the motor vehicle
98	96		subject to all encumbrances, assignments, contracts, liens, and
99	97		other interests to which the vehicle is subject at the owner's or
100	98		last surviving owner's death, as applicable. The transfer to the
101	99		designated beneficiary does not affect the ability of a lienholder
102	100		to pursue an existing means of debt collection permitted under the
103	101		laws of this state.
104	102		Sec. 115.006. CREDITOR CLAIMS; ALLOWANCES IN LIEU OF EXEMPT
105	103		PROPERTY AND FAMILY ALLOWANCES. Sections 114.104(b), (c), and (d)
106	104		and Section 114.106 apply to a transfer of an owner's interest in a
107	105		motor vehicle by a beneficiary designation in the same manner and to
108	106		the same extent as a transfer of real property under a transfer on
109	107		death deed under Chapter 114.
110	108		SECTION 2. Section 122.001(1), Estates Code, is amended to
111	109		read as follows:
112	110		(1) "Beneficiary" includes a person who would have
113	111		been entitled, if the person had not made a disclaimer, to receive
114	112		property as a result of the death of another person:
115	113		(A) by inheritance;
116	114		(B) under a will;
117	115		(C) by an agreement between spouses for community
118	116		property with a right of survivorship;
119	117		(D) by a joint tenancy with a right of
120	118		survivorship;
121	119		(E) by a survivorship agreement, account, or
122	120		interest in which the interest of the decedent passes to a surviving
123	121		beneficiary;
124	122		(F) by an insurance, annuity, endowment,
125	123		employment, deferred compensation, or other contract or
126	124		arrangement;
127	125		(G) under a pension, profit sharing, thrift,
128	126		stock bonus, life insurance, survivor income, incentive, or other
129	127		plan or program providing retirement, welfare, or fringe benefits
130	128		with respect to an employee or a self-employed individual; [or]
131	129		(H) by a transfer on death deed; or
132	130		(I) by a beneficiary designation as defined by
133	131		Section 115.001.
134	132		SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Transportation Code,
135	133		is amended by adding Section 501.0315 to read as follows:
136	134		Sec. 501.0315. BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION. (a) The owner of a
137	135		motor vehicle may designate a sole beneficiary to whom the owner's
138	136		interest in the vehicle transfers on the owner's death as provided
139	137		by Chapter 115, Estates Code, by submitting an application for
140	138		title under Section 501.023 with the designation. To be effective,
141	139		the designation must state that the transfer of an interest in the
142	140		vehicle to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the
143	141		transferor's death.
144	142		(b) The legal name of a beneficiary designated under this
145	143		section must be included on the title.
146	144		(c) The department shall transfer title of a motor vehicle
147	145		to a beneficiary designated under this section for the vehicle if
148	146		the beneficiary submits:
149	147		(1) an application for title under Section 501.023 not
150	148		later than the 180th day after the date of the owner's death or, if
151	149		the vehicle is owned by joint owners, the last surviving owner's
152	150		death, as applicable; and
153	151		(2) satisfactory proof of the death of the owner or
154	152		owners, as applicable.
155	153		(d) A beneficiary designation may be changed or revoked by
156	154		submitting a new application for title under Section 501.023.
157	155		(e) A beneficiary designation or a change or revocation of a
158	156		beneficiary designation made on an application for title of a motor
159	157		vehicle that has not been submitted to the department before the
160	158		death of a vehicle's owner or owners who made, changed, or revoked
161	159		the designation, as applicable, is invalid.
162	160		(f) The department may adopt rules to administer this
163	161		section.
164	162		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.