CN C.S.H.B. 863 75(R) JUVENILE JUSTICE & FAMILY ISSUES H.B. 863 By: Goodman 4-24-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND If a court divides a marital estate and the division is erroneous, the test for the appellate court is whether or not the court abused its discretion. Knowing the character and value of the property is essential for the appellate court to determine exactly what division of the marital estate has been made. The current rules on filing findings of fact and conclusions of law are unclear as to the duty of the court to provide information on the character and value of each asset. Current case law indicates a judge does not have to make findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding characterization and valuation of specific assets. Without that information being before the appellate court, it is virtually impossible to convince a court that a court has committed error in the division of the marital estate. PURPOSE As proposed, H.B. 863 provides a procedure by which the appellate court can be provided information on the character and value of the assets so it can make a proper determination of the correct division of the community estate. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 7, Family Code, by adding Section 7.0015 to establish that the court must make findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding the character and value of the marital assets. SECTION 2. Effective date, September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute makes no substantive change to the original, rather it places the new language in Chapter 7, Family Code, by adding Section 7.0015, as added by Senate Bill 334, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997. The original bill placed the language in Subchapter C, Chapter 3, Family Code, adding Section 3.634.