By Ellis S.B. No. 1549
76R4132 CLG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the probate of a will as a muniment of title.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 89B(a), Texas Probate Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 (a) General Proof. Whenever an applicant seeks to probate a
1-7 will as a muniment of title, the applicant must first prove to the
1-8 satisfaction of the court:
1-9 (1) That the person is dead, and if on the date on
1-10 which the application is filed, the person has been dead more than
1-11 [that] four years, that the applicant has met the requirements of
1-12 Section 73 of this code [have not elapsed since the person's death
1-13 and prior to the application]; and
1-14 (2) That the court has jurisdiction and venue over the
1-15 estate; and
1-16 (3) That citation has been served and returned in the
1-17 manner and for the length of time required by this Code; and
1-18 (4) That there are no unpaid debts owing by the estate
1-19 of the testator, excluding debts secured by liens on real estate,
1-20 or that there is no other reason why an administration of the
1-21 estate is necessary.
1-22 SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act to Section
1-23 89B(a), Texas Probate Code, apply only to an application to probate
1-24 a will as a muniment of title filed on or after the effective date
2-1 of this Act. An application to probate a will as a muniment of
2-2 title filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by
2-3 the law in effect on the date the application was filed, and the
2-4 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-5 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-6 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
2-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.