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Senate Bill 1661 |
Senate Author: Harris |
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Effective: 5-26-09 |
House Sponsor: Truitt |
Senate Bill 1661 amends the Family Code to authorize a child support obligor to file an affidavit to release a child support lien on homestead property in the same manner that a judgment debtor may file an affidavit to release a judgment lien against a homestead. The bill requires the obligor to comply with all requirements imposed by provisions relating to the release of a judgment lien except that the obligor is required only to send the letter and affidavit described in those provisions to the claimant under the child support lien at the claimant's last known address. The bill authorizes the claimant under the child support lien to dispute the obligor's affidavit by filing a contradicting affidavit and requires the issue of whether the real property is subject to the lien to be resolved in an action brought for that purpose in the district court of the county in which the real property is located and the lien was filed, if the claimant files a contradicting affidavit.
Senate Bill 1661 establishes that a child support lien is effective with respect to real property until the 10th anniversary of the date on which the lien notice was filed with the county clerk. The bill authorizes the lien to be renewed for subsequent 10-year periods by filing a renewed lien notice in the same manner as the original lien notice and establishes the priority of a renewed lien notice filed before or after the applicable 10th anniversary. The bill also repeals a provision that required the state's Title IV-D agency to file a child support lien in each Title IV-D case in which the total amount of child support delinquency was at least $5,000 and the obligor owned property in Texas or resided in Texas.