74R10880 MWV-F By Jones of Lubbock H.B. No. 498 Substitute the following for H.B. No. 498: By Tillery C.S.H.B. No. 498 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the probate of certain wills without the requirement of 1-3 a court hearing. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Part 1, Chapter V, Texas Probate Code, is amended 1-6 by adding Section 88A to read as follows: 1-7 Sec. 88A. PROBATE OF SELF-PROVED WILL WITHOUT COURT HEARING. 1-8 (a) To obtain without a hearing probate of a will that is a 1-9 self-proved will under Section 59 of this code, an applicant for a 1-10 court order admitting the will to probate may submit by mail or in 1-11 person to the county clerk a written request to the court for the 1-12 probate of the will under this section. The request must include 1-13 for court review and approval under Section 89 of this code: 1-14 (1) the will or a copy of the will if the will is in 1-15 the custody of the county clerk under Section 81(a) of this code; 1-16 (2) a sworn affidavit of a witness that contains the 1-17 proof of facts required to probate a self-proved will under 1-18 Sections 88(a) and (b)(3) of this code; and 1-19 (3) proof of notice to the attorney general, if that 1-20 notice is required under Section 115.011 or 123.003, Property Code. 1-21 (b) The court may not order the probate of a will under this 1-22 section if another application for the probate of the same will has 1-23 been filed with the court under Section 81 of this code and the 1-24 court has not taken action on that application. 2-1 (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) of this section, the 2-2 court may require the applicant to appear at a hearing before 2-3 admitting the will to probate. 2-4 SECTION 2. Section 89, Texas Probate Code, is amended to 2-5 read as follows: 2-6 Sec. 89. Action of Court on Probated Will. Upon the 2-7 completion of hearing of an application for the probate of a will 2-8 or after review of a self-proved will and a sworn affidavit and any 2-9 proof of notice required that is submitted under Section 88A of 2-10 this code, if the Court be satisfied that such will should be 2-11 admitted to probate, an order to that effect shall be entered. 2-12 Certified copies of such will and the order, or of the record 2-13 thereof, and the record of testimony or a sworn affidavit reviewed 2-14 by the Court under Section 88A of this code, may be recorded in 2-15 other counties, and may be used in evidence, as the original might 2-16 be, on the trial or review of the same matter in any other court, 2-17 when taken there by appeal or otherwise. 2-18 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and 2-19 applies only to the estate of a person who dies on or after that 2-20 date. The estate of a person who dies before the effective date of 2-21 this Act is covered by the law in effect on the date of the 2-22 person's death, and the former law is continued in effect for that 2-23 purpose. 2-24 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 2-25 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-26 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-27 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.