1-1     By:  Hartnett (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth)            H.B. No. 3088

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 1997;

 1-3     April 29, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 17, 1997, reported adversely, with favorable

 1-5     Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0;

 1-6     May 17, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3088               By:  Wentworth

 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-9                                   AN ACT

1-10     relating to the notice required to be given in a proceeding to

1-11     determine heirship.

1-12           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-13           SECTION 1.  Sections 50(a) and (b), Texas Probate Code, are

1-14     amended to read as follows:

1-15           (a)  Citation shall be served by registered or certified mail

1-16     upon all distributees 12 years of age or older whose names and

1-17     addresses are known, or whose names and addresses can be learned

1-18     through the exercise of reasonable diligence, provided that the

1-19     court may in its discretion require that service of citation shall

1-20     be made by personal service upon some or all of those named as

1-21     distributees in the application.  Citation shall be served as

1-22     provided by this subsection on the parent, managing conservator, or

1-23     guardian of a distributee who is younger than 12 years of age, if

1-24     the name and address of the parent, managing conservator, or

1-25     guardian is known or can be reasonably ascertained.

1-26           (b)  If the address of a person or entity on whom citation is

1-27     required to be served [Unknown heirs, and known heirs whose

1-28     addresses] cannot be ascertained, citation shall be served on the

1-29     person or entity by publication in the county in which the

1-30     proceedings are commenced, and if the decedent resided in another

1-31     county, then a citation shall also be published in the county of

1-32     his last residence.  Unknown heirs shall also be served by

1-33     publication in the manner provided by this subsection.

1-34           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

1-35     applies only to an application for determination of heirship filed

1-36     on or after that date.  An application for determination of

1-37     heirship filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by

1-38     the law in existence on the date on which the application was

1-39     filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

1-40           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-41     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-42     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-43     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-44     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

1-45                                  * * * * *