By Gray                                               H.B. No. 2731
         77R1303 MTB-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to a proceeding to declare heirship.
 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-4           SECTION 1. Section 34A, Texas Probate Code, is amended to
 1-5     read as follows:
 1-6           Sec. 34A.  ATTORNEYS AD LITEM.      Except as provided by
 1-7     Section 53(c) of this code, the [The] judge of a probate court may
 1-8     appoint an attorney ad litem to represent the interests of a person
 1-9     having a legal disability, a nonresident, an unborn or
1-10     unascertained person, or an unknown heir in any probate proceeding.
1-11     Each attorney ad litem appointed under this section is entitled to
1-12     reasonable compensation for services in the amount set by the court
1-13     and to be taxed as costs in the proceeding.
1-14           SECTION 2. Section 50, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
1-15     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
1-16     follows:
1-17           (b)  If the address of a person or entity on whom citation is
1-18     required to be served cannot be ascertained, citation shall be
1-19     served on the person or entity by publication in the county in
1-20     which the proceedings are commenced, and if the decedent resided in
1-21     another county, then a citation shall also be published in the
1-22     county of the decedent's [his] last residence.  To determine
1-23     whether there are any other heirs, citation [Unknown heirs] shall
1-24     also be served on unknown heirs by publication in the manner
 2-1     provided by this subsection.
 2-2           (e)  A parent, managing conservator, guardian, attorney ad
 2-3     litem, or guardian ad litem of a distributee who is at least 12
 2-4     years of age but younger than 19 years of age may not waive
 2-5     citation required to be served on the distributee under this
 2-6     section.
 2-7           SECTION 3. The heading of Section 53, Texas Probate Code, is
 2-8     amended to read as follows:
 2-9           Sec. 53.  EVIDENCE; UNKNOWN PARTIES AND INCAPACITATED PERSONS
2-10           SECTION 4. Section 53, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
2-11     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
2-12           (c)  The court shall appoint an attorney ad litem to
2-13     represent the interests of unknown heirs.
2-14           SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
2-15     34A and 50(b), Texas Probate Code, and by Sections 50(e) and 53(c),
2-16     as added by this Act, apply only to an application for
2-17     determination of heirship filed on or after the effective date of
2-18     this Act.  An application for determination of heirship filed
2-19     before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
2-20     effect on the date on which the application was filed, and the
2-21     former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
2-22           SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.