87R18041 CLG-F
By: Metcalf H.B. No. 3394
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to determining the incapacity of a guardian.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1203.052, Estates Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (c), the [The] court may remove a
guardian as provided by Subsection (a-1) if:
(1) sufficient grounds appear to support a belief that
the guardian has misapplied, embezzled, or removed from the state,
or is about to misapply, embezzle, or remove from the state, any of
the property entrusted to the guardian's care;
(2) the guardian fails to return any account or report
that is required by law to be made;
(3) the guardian fails to obey a proper order of the
court that has jurisdiction with respect to the performance of the
guardian's duties;
(4) the guardian is proved to have been guilty of gross
misconduct or mismanagement in the performance of the guardian's
duties;
(5) the guardian:
(A) becomes incapacitated;
(B) is sentenced to the penitentiary; or
(C) from any other cause, becomes incapable of
properly performing the duties of the guardian's trust;
(6) the guardian has engaged in conduct with respect
to the ward that would be considered to be abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, as those terms are defined by Section 48.002, Human
Resources Code, if engaged in with respect to an elderly person or
[disabled] person with a disability, as defined by that section;
(7) the guardian neglects to educate or maintain the
ward as liberally as the means of the ward's estate and the ward's
ability or condition permit;
(8) the guardian interferes with the ward's progress
or participation in programs in the community;
(9) the guardian fails to comply with the requirements
of Subchapter G, Chapter 1104;
(10) the court determines that, because of the
dissolution of the joint guardians' marriage, the termination of
the guardians' joint appointment and the continuation of only one
of the joint guardians as the sole guardian is in the best interest
of the ward; or
(11) the guardian would be ineligible for appointment
as a guardian under Subchapter H, Chapter 1104.
(c) If there is probable cause to believe that a guardian is
an incapacitated person, a court may, on the court's own motion or
on complaint of an interested person, appoint an attorney ad litem
to represent the ward's interests as provided by Section 1054.007
and a court investigator or guardian ad litem to investigate
whether the guardian should be removed under Subsection (a)(5)(A).
If the court determines it is necessary, the court may appoint the
necessary physicians to examine the guardian to determine whether
the guardian is an incapacitated person for purposes of Subsection
(a)(5)(A).
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
guardianship created before, on, or after the effective date of
this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.