HBA-SEB H.B. 1268 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1268 By: Goodman Juvenile Justice and Family Issues 2/18/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a court which divides property in a divorce case is not required to identify the value of the parties' community assets under dispute. If a party appeals a divorce case involving the division of property, determining that value may be a difficult task. H.B. 1268 requires a court, upon request of a party, to state in writing the character of the parties' disputed assets, the value of community assets and liabilities, and the amount of any reimbursement claims and offsets found by the court. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter H, Chapter 6, Family Code, by adding Section 6.711, as follows: Sec. 6.711. FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW. (a) Requires a court which has rendered a judgment dividing the estate of the parties in a suit for dissolution of marriage, on request of a party, to state in writing its findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning the character of the disputed assets of the parties, the value of the community assets and liabilities on which disputed evidence has been presented, and the amount of reimbursement claims and offsets found by the court to be equitable. (b) Provides that a request for findings of fact and conclusions of law under this section must conform to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.