87R6103 EAS-D
By: Krause H.B. No. 1337
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to priority of payment for certain electrical service
claims against the estates of certain decedents.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 355.102(b), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Class 1 claims are composed of funeral expenses, [and]
expenses of the decedent's last illness, including claims for the
cost of electrical service provided to the decedent if the decedent
had been designated as a critical care residential customer, and
claims for reimbursement of funeral [those] expenses and expenses
of the decedent's last illness, for a reasonable amount approved by
the court, not to exceed $15,000 for funeral expenses and $15,000
for expenses of the decedent's last illness. Any excess shall be
classified and paid as other unsecured claims.
SECTION 2. Section 355.103, Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 355.103. PRIORITY OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS. When a
personal representative has estate funds in the representative's
possession, the representative shall pay in the following order:
(1) funeral expenses in an amount not to exceed
$15,000 and expenses of the decedent's last illness, including
claims for the cost of electrical service provided to the decedent
if the decedent had been designated as a critical care residential
customer, in an amount not to exceed $15,000;
(2) allowances made to the decedent's surviving spouse
and children, or to either the surviving spouse or children;
(3) expenses of administration and expenses incurred
in preserving, safekeeping, and managing the estate; and
(4) other claims against the estate in the order of the
claims' classifications.
SECTION 3. Sections 355.102(b) and 355.103, Estates Code,
as amended by this Act, apply only to the estate of a decedent who
dies on or after the effective date of this Act. The estate of a
decedent who dies before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date of the decedent's death, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.