By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 746
(In the Senate - Filed January 8, 2025; February 7, 2025,
read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence;
March 24, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; March 24, 2025,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 746 By: Johnson
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to guardianship matters.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1002.013, Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1002.013. GUARDIAN AD LITEM. "Guardian ad litem"
means a person appointed by a court to represent the best interests
of an incapacitated person or proposed ward in a guardianship
proceeding.
SECTION 2. Section 1054.051(a), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (b), the judge may appoint a
guardian ad litem to represent the interests of an incapacitated
person or proposed ward in a guardianship proceeding.
SECTION 3. Section 1054.054(b), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A guardian ad litem shall protect the incapacitated
person or proposed ward whose interests the guardian has been
appointed to represent in a manner that will enable the court to
determine the action that will be in that person's best interests.
SECTION 4. Section 1054.056(a), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (b), a guardian ad litem appointed
under this subchapter or Section 1102.001 or 1202.054 to represent
the interests of an incapacitated person or proposed ward in a
guardianship proceeding involving the creation, modification, or
termination of a guardianship is not liable for civil damages
arising from a recommendation made or an opinion given in the
capacity of guardian ad litem.
SECTION 5. Section 1055.001(b), Estates Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A person who has an interest that is adverse to a
proposed ward or incapacitated person may not:
(1) file an application to create a guardianship or
for the appointment of a guardian for the proposed ward or
incapacitated person;
(2) contest the creation of a guardianship for the
proposed ward or incapacitated person;
(3) contest the appointment of a person as a guardian
of the proposed ward or incapacitated person; [or]
(4) contest an application for complete restoration of
a ward's capacity or modification of a ward's guardianship; or
(5) file a motion or complaint to request the removal
of a guardian or contest the request for removal of a guardian.
SECTION 6. Section 1163.051, Estates Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) If the court approves the annual account, the court
shall enter an order to that effect.
(e) If the court does not approve the annual account, the
court shall enter an order to that effect and require the guardian
of the estate to file another annual account within a period
prescribed by the order, which may not be later than the 30th day
after the date the order is entered.
SECTION 7. Section 1163.104, Estates Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) If the judge is satisfied that the facts stated in the
report are true, the court shall approve the report and enter an
order to that effect.
(a-1) If the court does not approve the annual report, the
court shall enter an order to that effect and require the guardian
of the person to file another annual report within a period
prescribed by the order, which may not be later than the 30th day
after the date the order is entered.
SECTION 8. Sections 1054.051, 1054.054, 1054.056,
1055.001, 1163.051, and 1163.104, Estates Code, as amended by this
Act, apply to a guardianship proceeding that is pending or
commenced on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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