By: Clardy (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 2893
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023;
May 5, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on
Jurisprudence; May 15, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
May 15, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2893 By: Hughes
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedures for transferring certain cases and
proceedings between courts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 33.101, Estates Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 33.101. TRANSFER TO OTHER COUNTY IN WHICH VENUE IS
PROPER. If probate proceedings involving the same estate are
commenced in more than one county and the court making a
determination of venue as provided by Section 33.053 determines
that venue is proper in another county, the court clerk shall
transmit the file for the proceeding in accordance with the
procedures provided by Section 33.105 [make and retain a copy of the
entire file in the case and transmit the original file in electronic
or paper form] to the court in the county in which venue is proper.
The court to which the file is transmitted shall conduct the
proceeding in the same manner as if the proceeding had originally
been commenced in that county.
SECTION 2. Section 33.102(a), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If it appears to the court at any time before the final
order in a probate proceeding is rendered that the court does not
have priority of venue over the proceeding, the court shall, on the
application of an interested person, transfer the proceeding to the
proper county by transmitting the file for the proceeding in
accordance with the procedures provided by Section 33.105 to the
proper court in that county [in electronic or paper form:
[(1) the original file in the case; and
[(2) certified copies of all entries that have been
made in the judge's probate docket in the proceeding].
SECTION 3. Section 33.103(b), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The clerk of the court from which the probate proceeding
described by Subsection (a) is transferred shall transmit the file
for the proceeding in accordance with the procedures provided by
Section 33.105 to the court to which the proceeding is
transferred[:
[(1) the original file in the proceeding; and
[(2) a certified copy of the index].
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 33, Estates Code, is
amended by adding Section 33.105 to read as follows:
Sec. 33.105. TRANSFER OF PROBATE PROCEEDING RECORD. (a) If
a probate proceeding is transferred to a court in another county
under this chapter, the clerk of the transferring court shall send
to the clerk of the court to which the proceeding is transferred,
using the electronic filing system established under Section
72.031, Government Code:
(1) a transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents;
(2) a copy of each final order;
(3) a copy of the order of transfer signed by the
transferring court;
(4) a copy of the original papers filed in the
transferring court, including a copy of any will;
(5) a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents from each previous transfer; and
(6) a bill of any costs accrued in the transferring
court.
(b) The clerk of the transferring court shall use the
standardized transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents form developed by the Office of Court Administration of
the Texas Judicial System under Section 72.037, Government Code,
when transferring a proceeding under this section.
(c) The clerk of the transferring court shall keep a copy of
the documents transferred under Subsection (a).
(d) The clerk of the court to which the proceeding is
transferred shall:
(1) accept documents transferred under Subsection
(a);
(2) docket the proceeding; and
(3) notify, using the electronic filing system
established under Section 72.031, Government Code, all parties to
the proceeding, the clerk of the transferring court, and, if
appropriate, the transferring court's local registry that the
proceeding has been docketed.
(e) The clerk of the transferee court shall physically or
electronically mark or stamp the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents to evidence the date and time of acceptance
under Subsection (d) but may not physically or electronically mark
or stamp any other document transferred under Subsection (a).
(f) The clerks of both the transferee and transferring
courts may each produce under Chapter 51, Government Code,
certified or uncertified copies of documents transferred under
Subsection (a) but must include a copy of the transfer certificate
and index of transferred documents with each document produced.
(g) Sections 80.001 and 80.002, Government Code, do not
apply to the transfer of documents under this section.
(h) The clerk of the transferring court shall deliver the
original will, or the copy of the will offered for probate in lieu
of a lost original will, as applicable, to the clerk of the
transferee court by:
(1) registered or certified mail, return receipt
requested;
(2) common or contract carrier, with proof of delivery
receipt; or
(3) designated delivery service, as defined by 26
U.S.C. Section 7502(f)(2), with proof of delivery receipt.
(i) The party requesting the transfer shall pay the cost of
delivery under Subsection (h).
SECTION 5. Section 1023.006, Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1023.006. TRANSFER OF RECORD. (a) Not later than the
10th working day after the date [When] an order of transfer is
signed [made] under Section 1023.005, the clerk shall record any
unrecorded papers of the guardianship required to be recorded. On
payment of the clerk's fee, the clerk shall send, using the
electronic filing system established under Section 72.031,
Government Code, [transmit in electronic or paper form] to the
county clerk of the county to which the guardianship was ordered
transferred:
(1) a transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents [the case file of the guardianship proceedings]; [and]
(2) a copy of each final order;
(3) a copy of the order of transfer signed by the
transferring court;
(4) a copy of the original papers filed in the
transferring court;
(5) a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents from each previous transfer; and
(6) a bill of any costs accrued in the transferring
court [a certified copy of the index of the guardianship records].
(b) The clerk of the transferring court shall use the
standardized transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents form developed by the Office of Court Administration of
the Texas Judicial System under Section 72.037, Government Code,
when transferring a proceeding under this section.
(c) The clerk of the transferring court shall keep a copy of
the documents transferred under Subsection (a).
(d) Subject to Section 1023.005(c), the clerk of the court
to which the proceeding is transferred shall:
(1) accept documents transferred under Subsection
(a);
(2) docket the case; and
(3) notify, using the electronic filing system
established under Section 72.031, Government Code, all parties, the
clerk of the transferring court, and, if appropriate, the
transferring court's local registry that the case has been
docketed.
(e) The clerk of the transferee court shall physically or
electronically mark or stamp the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents to evidence the date and time of acceptance
under Subsection (d), but may not physically or electronically mark
or stamp any other document transferred under Subsection (a).
(f) The clerks of both the transferee and transferring
courts may each produce under Chapter 51, Government Code,
certified or uncertified copies of documents transferred under
Subsection (a) but must include a copy of the transfer certificate
and index of transferred documents with each document produced.
(g) Sections 80.001 and 80.002, Government Code, do not
apply to the transfer of documents under this section.
SECTION 6. Section 1023.007, Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1023.007. TRANSFER EFFECTIVE. The order transferring
a guardianship does not take effect until the clerk of the court to
which the proceeding is transferred accepts and dockets the case
record under Section 1023.006[:
[(1) the case file and a certified copy of the index
required by Section 1023.006 are filed in electronic or paper form
in the office of the county clerk of the county to which the
guardianship was ordered transferred; and
[(2) a certificate under the clerk's official seal and
reporting the filing of the case file and a certified copy of the
index is filed in electronic or paper form in the court ordering the
transfer by the county clerk of the county to which the guardianship
was ordered transferred].
SECTION 7. Sections 155.207(a), (b), and (e), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the 10th working day after the date an
order of transfer is signed, the clerk of the court transferring a
proceeding shall send, using the electronic filing system
established under Section 72.031, Government Code, to the proper
court [in the county] to which transfer is being made:
(1) a transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents;
(2) a copy of each final order;
(3) a copy of the order of transfer signed by the
transferring court;
(4) a copy of the original papers filed in the
transferring court;
(5) a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents from each previous transfer; and
(6) a bill of any costs that have accrued in the
transferring court.
(b) The clerk of the transferring court shall keep a copy of
the documents transferred under Subsection (a) [transferred
pleadings].
(e) The clerks of both the transferee and transferring
courts may each produce under Chapter 51, Government Code,
certified or uncertified copies of documents transferred under
Subsection (a) and must [filed in a case transferred under this
section, but shall also] include a copy of the transfer certificate
and index of transferred documents with each document produced.
SECTION 8. Section 51.3071, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (f) and (g) to read
as follows:
(a) If a case is transferred from a district court to a
constitutional or statutory county court or another district court,
the clerk of the transferring [district] court shall send to the
[county] clerk of the court to which the case is transferred, using
the electronic filing system established under Section 72.031:
(1) a transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents;
(2) a copy of the original papers filed in the
transferring court;
(3) a copy of the order of transfer signed by the
transferring court;
(4) a copy of each final order;
(5) a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents from each previous transfer; and
(6) a bill of any costs that have accrued in the
transferring court.
(f) The clerks of both the transferee and transferring
courts may each produce, under this chapter, certified or
uncertified copies of documents transferred under Subsection (a)
and must include a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents with each document produced.
(g) This section applies regardless of whether the
transferee court and the transferring court are in the same or
different counties.
SECTION 9. Section 51.403, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read
as follows:
(a) If a case is transferred from a county court to a
district court or to a statutory county court or county court of
another county, the clerk of the transferring [county] court shall
send to the [district] clerk of the court to which the case is
transferred, using the electronic filing system established under
Section 72.031:
(1) a transfer certificate and index of transferred
documents;
(2) a copy of the original papers filed in the
transferring court;
(3) a copy of the order of transfer signed by the
transferring court;
(4) a copy of each final order;
(5) a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents from each previous transfer; and
(6) a bill of any costs that have accrued in the
transferring court.
(d) The clerks of both the transferee and transferring
courts may each produce, under this chapter, certified or
uncertified copies of documents transferred under Subsection (a)
and must include a copy of the transfer certificate and index of
transferred documents with each document produced.
(e) This section applies to a case transferred between a
district court and a county court regardless of whether the
transferee court and the transferring court are in the same or
different counties. A case transferred between two county courts
in the same county is not subject to the requirements of this
section. The clerk serving the county courts shall reassign the
case on receipt of an order of transfer.
SECTION 10. Section 72.037(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The office shall develop and make available a
standardized transfer certificate and an index of transferred
documents form to be used for the transfer of cases and proceedings
under Sections 33.105 and 1023.006, Estates Code, Section 155.207,
Family Code, and Sections 51.3071 and 51.403 of this code.
SECTION 11. Section 33.103(c), Estates Code, is repealed.
SECTION 12. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Office of Court Administration of the Texas
Judicial System shall adopt rules and develop and make available
all forms and materials required by Section 72.037, Government
Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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