86R1587 MM-D
By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 743
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment and duties of an attorney ad litem for
certain relatives in certain suits affecting the parent-child
relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 107.013, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 107.013. MANDATORY APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY AD LITEM
FOR PARENT OR RELATIVE.
SECTION 2. Section 107.013(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) In a suit filed by a governmental entity under Subtitle
E in which termination of the parent-child relationship or the
appointment of a conservator for a child is requested, the court
shall appoint an attorney ad litem to represent the interests of:
(1) an indigent parent of the child who responds in
opposition to the termination or appointment;
(2) a parent served by citation by publication;
(3) an alleged father who failed to register with the
registry under Chapter 160 and whose identity or location is
unknown; [and]
(4) an alleged father who registered with the
paternity registry under Chapter 160, but the petitioner's attempt
to personally serve citation at the address provided to the
registry and at any other address for the alleged father known by
the petitioner has been unsuccessful; and
(5) a person related to the child within the third
degree of consanguinity as determined under Chapter 573, Government
Code, who:
(A) files a motion requesting appointment as the
child's managing conservator; and
(B) requests the appointment of an attorney ad
litem.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 107.0131, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 107.0131. POWERS AND DUTIES OF ATTORNEY AD LITEM FOR
PARENT OR RELATIVE.
SECTION 4. Section 107.0131, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) An attorney ad litem appointed under Section 107.013
to represent the interests of a relative requesting appointment as
the child's managing conservator:
(1) shall:
(A) subject to Rules 4.02, 4.03, and 4.04, Texas
Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, and within a reasonable
time after the appointment, interview:
(i) the relative;
(ii) each person who has significant
knowledge of the case; and
(iii) the parties to the suit;
(B) investigate the facts of the case;
(C) to ensure competent representation at
hearings, mediations, pretrial matters, and the trial on the
merits:
(i) obtain and review copies of all court
files in the suit during the attorney ad litem's course of
representation; and
(ii) when necessary, conduct formal
discovery under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure or the discovery
control plan;
(D) take any action consistent with the
relative's interests that the attorney ad litem considers necessary
to expedite the proceedings;
(E) encourage settlement and the use of
alternative forms of dispute resolution;
(F) review and sign, or decline to sign, a
proposed or agreed order affecting the relative; and
(G) abide by the relative's objectives for
representation; and
(2) is entitled to:
(A) request clarification from the court if the
role of the attorney ad litem is ambiguous;
(B) request a hearing or trial on the merits;
(C) consent or refuse to consent to an interview
of the relative by another attorney;
(D) receive a copy of each pleading or other
paper filed with the court;
(E) receive notice of each hearing in the suit;
(F) participate in any case staffing conducted by
the Department of Family and Protective Services in which the
relative is invited to participate, including, as appropriate, a
case staffing to develop a family plan of service, a family group
conference, a permanency conference, a mediation, a case staffing
to plan for the discharge and return of the child to the parent, and
any other case staffing that the department determines would be
appropriate for the relative to attend, but excluding any internal
department staffing or staffing between the department and the
department's legal representative; and
(G) attend all legal proceedings in the suit.
SECTION 5. Section 107.302(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A managed assigned counsel program may be operated with
public money for the purpose of appointing counsel to provide legal
representation and services for a child, [or] parent, or relative
in a suit filed by a governmental entity seeking termination of the
parent-child relationship or the appointment of a conservator for
the child in which appointment is mandatory for a child under
Section 107.012 or for a parent or relative under Section 107.013.
SECTION 6. Sections 107.303(a) and (b), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioners court of a county, on written approval
of a judge of a statutory county court or a district court having
family law jurisdiction in the county, may appoint a governmental
entity, nonprofit corporation, or local bar association to operate
a managed assigned counsel program for the legal representation of:
(1) a child in a suit in which appointment is mandatory
under Section 107.012; or
(2) a parent or relative in a suit in which appointment
is mandatory under Section 107.013.
(b) The commissioners courts of two or more counties may
enter into a written agreement to jointly appoint and fund a
governmental entity, nonprofit corporation, or bar association to
operate a program that provides legal representation for:
(1) children;[,]
(2) parents;[,]
(3) relatives; or
(4) [both] children, [and] parents, and relatives.
SECTION 7. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. A suit affecting the parent-child
relationship filed before that date is governed by the law in effect
on the date the suit was filed, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.