By Jones of Lubbock                              H.B. No. 528

      75R3093 BEM-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the probate of certain wills without a court hearing.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.   Part 1, Chapter V, Texas Probate Code, is

 1-5     amended by adding Section 88A to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 88A.  PROBATE OF SELF-PROVED WILL WITHOUT COURT HEARING.

 1-7     (a)  To obtain without a hearing probate of a will that is a

 1-8     self-proved will under Section 59 of this code, an applicant for a

 1-9     court order admitting the will to probate may submit by mail or in

1-10     person to the county clerk a written request to the court for the

1-11     probate of the will under this section.  The request must include

1-12     for court review and approval under Section 89 of this code:

1-13                 (1)  the will or a copy of the will if the will is in

1-14     the custody of the county clerk under Section 81(a) of this code;

1-15     and

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.

1-19           (b)  The court may not order the probate of a will under this

1-20     section if another application for the probate of the same will has

1-21     been filed with the court under Section 81 of this code and the

1-22     court has not taken action on that application.

1-23           (c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a) of this section, the

1-24     court may require the applicant to appear at a hearing before

 2-1     admitting the will to probate.

 2-2           SECTION 2.   Section 89, Texas Probate Code, is amended to

 2-3     read as follows:

 2-4           Sec. 89.  Action of Court on Probated Will.  Upon the

 2-5     completion of hearing of an application for the probate of a will

 2-6     or after review of a self-proved will and a sworn affidavit

 2-7     submitted under Section 88A of this code, if the Court be satisfied

 2-8     that such will should be admitted to probate, an order to that

 2-9     effect shall be entered.  Certified copies of such will and the

2-10     order, or of the record thereof, and the record of testimony or a

2-11     sworn affidavit reviewed by the Court under Section 88A of this

2-12     code, may be recorded in other counties, and may be used in

2-13     evidence, as the original might be, on the trial or review of the

2-14     same matter in any other court, when taken there by appeal or

2-15     otherwise.

2-16           SECTION 3.   This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

2-17     applies only to the estate of a person who dies on or after that

2-18     date.  The estate of a person who dies before the effective date of

2-19     this Act is covered by the law in effect on the date of the

2-20     person's death, and the former law is continued in effect for that

2-21     purpose.

2-22           SECTION 4.   The importance of this legislation and the

2-23     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-24     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-25     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-26     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.