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Senate Bill 512 |
Senate Author: Harris |
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Effective: 9-1-07 |
House Sponsor: Solomons |
State law and the Texas Constitution exempt a person's homestead from seizure or forced sale because of certain liens on the property. Senate Bill 512 amends the Property Code to clarify that this exemption applies to a judgment lien and to authorize a judgment debtor to file at any time in the real property records of the county in which the debtor's homestead is located an affidavit attesting to the release of such a lien. The bill sets out proposed language for the debtor's affidavit and specifies that it serves as a release of record of the lien unless the judgment creditor files a contradicting affidavit in the county's real property records asserting that the debtor's affidavit is untrue or that another reason exists for the lien's attachment to the property. The bill maintains that a bona fide purchaser or a mortgagee for value, or a successor or assign of such a person, may rely conclusively on the debtor's affidavit if it includes certain evidence that the debtor notified the creditor about the affidavit.