Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3157 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R3272 KFF-F
2	2	By: Leach H.B. No. 3157
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to emergency intervention proceedings concerning a
8	8	decedent's estate.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 152.001, Estates Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 152.001. APPLICATION AUTHORIZED. (a) Subject to
13	13	Subsection (b), a person qualified to serve as an administrator
14	14	under Section 304.001 may file an application requesting emergency
15	15	intervention by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to provide
16	16	for:
17	17	(1) the payment or reimbursement of the decedent's
18	18	funeral and burial expenses; or
19	19	(2) the protection and storage of personal property
20	20	owned by the decedent that, on the date of the decedent's death, was
21	21	located in accommodations rented by the decedent.
22	22	(b) An applicant may file an application under this section
23	23	only if:
24	24	(1) an application or affidavit has not been filed and
25	25	is not pending under Section 256.052, 256.054, or 301.052 or
26	26	Chapter 205 or 401; and
27	27	(2) the applicant needs to:
28	28	(A) obtain funds for the payment or reimbursement
29	29	of the decedent's funeral and burial expenses; or
30	30	(B) gain access to accommodations rented by the
31	31	decedent that contain the decedent's personal property and the
32	32	applicant has been denied access to those accommodations.
33	33	SECTION 2. Sections 152.002(a) and (b), Estates Code, are
34	34	amended to read as follows:
35	35	(a) An emergency intervention application must be sworn and
36	36	must contain:
37	37	(1) the applicant's name, address, and interest;
38	38	(2) facts showing an immediate necessity for the
39	39	issuance of an emergency intervention order under Subchapter B;
40	40	(3) the decedent's date of death, place of death, and
41	41	residential address on the date of death;
42	42	(4) the name and address of the funeral home holding
43	43	the decedent's remains or paid by the applicant for the decedent's
44	44	funeral and burial; and
45	45	(5) the names of any known or ascertainable heirs and
46	46	devisees of the decedent.
47	47	(b) In addition to the information required under
48	48	Subsection (a), if emergency intervention is requested to obtain
49	49	funds needed for the payment or reimbursement of the decedent's
50	50	funeral and burial expenses, the application must also contain:
51	51	(1) the reason any known or ascertainable heirs and
52	52	devisees of the decedent:
53	53	(A) cannot be contacted; or
54	54	(B) have refused to assist in the decedent's
55	55	burial;
56	56	(2) a description of necessary funeral and burial
57	57	procedures and a statement from the funeral home that contains a
58	58	detailed and itemized description of the cost of those procedures;
59	59	[and]
60	60	(3) the name and address of an individual, entity, or
61	61	financial institution, including an employer, in possession of any
62	62	funds of or due to the decedent, and related account numbers and
63	63	balances, if known by the applicant; and
64	64	(4) if applicable, the amount paid by the applicant
65	65	for the funeral and burial procedures described by Subdivision (2).
66	66	SECTION 3. Section 152.003, Estates Code, is amended to
67	67	read as follows:
68	68	Sec. 152.003. ADDITIONAL CONTENTS OF APPLICATION:
69	69	INSTRUCTIONS REGARDING DECEDENT'S FUNERAL AND REMAINS. (a) In
70	70	addition to the information required under Section 152.002, if
71	71	emergency intervention is requested to obtain funds needed for the
72	72	payment or reimbursement of a decedent's funeral and burial
73	73	expenses, the application must also state whether there are or were
74	74	any written instructions from the decedent relating to the type and
75	75	manner of funeral or burial preferred by the decedent. The
76	76	applicant shall:
77	77	(1) attach the instructions, if available, to the
78	78	application; and
79	79	(2) fully comply, or must have fully complied, as
80	80	appropriate, with the instructions.
81	81	(b) If written instructions do not exist, the applicant may
82	82	not permit or have permitted the decedent's remains to be cremated
83	83	unless the applicant obtains or obtained the court's permission to
84	84	cremate the remains.
85	85	SECTION 4. Section 152.004, Estates Code, is amended to
86	86	read as follows:
87	87	Sec. 152.004. TIME AND PLACE OF FILING. An emergency
88	88	intervention application must be filed:
89	89	(1) with the court clerk in the county in which:
90	90	(A) the decedent was domiciled; or
91	91	(B) the accommodations rented by the decedent
92	92	that contain the decedent's personal property are located; and
93	93	(2) not earlier than the third day after the date of
94	94	the decedent's death and not later than nine months [the 90th day]
95	95	after the date of the decedent's death.
96	96	SECTION 5. Section 152.051, Estates Code, is amended to
97	97	read as follows:
98	98	Sec. 152.051. ISSUANCE OF ORDER REGARDING FUNERAL AND
99	99	BURIAL EXPENSES. If on review of an application filed under Section
100	100	152.001 the court determines that emergency intervention is
101	101	necessary to obtain funds needed for the payment or reimbursement
102	102	of a decedent's funeral and burial expenses, the court may order
103	103	funds of the decedent that are being held by an individual, an
104	104	employer, or a financial institution to be paid directly to a
105	105	funeral home or the applicant, as applicable, only for:
106	106	(1) reasonable and necessary attorney's fees for the
107	107	attorney who obtained the order;
108	108	(2) court costs for obtaining the order; and
109	109	(3) funeral and burial expenses not to exceed $5,000
110	110	as ordered by the court to provide the decedent with or to provide
111	111	reimbursement for a reasonable, dignified, and appropriate funeral
112	112	and burial.
113	113	SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
114	114	an application requesting emergency intervention that is filed on
115	115	or after the effective date of this Act. An application that is
116	116	filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
117	117	in effect at the time the application was filed, and the former law
118	118	is continued in effect for that purpose.
119	119	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
120	120	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
121	121	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
122	122	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
123	123	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.