1-1 By: Gray (Senate Sponsor - Bernsen) H.B. No. 2731
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 7, 2001;
1-3 May 7, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
1-4 Jurisprudence; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following
1-5 vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to a proceeding to declare heirship.
1-9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-10 SECTION 1. Section 34A, Texas Probate Code, is amended to
1-11 read as follows:
1-12 Sec. 34A. ATTORNEYS AD LITEM. Except as provided by
1-13 Section 53(c) of this code, the [The] judge of a probate court may
1-14 appoint an attorney ad litem to represent the interests of a person
1-15 having a legal disability, a nonresident, an unborn or
1-16 unascertained person, or an unknown heir in any probate proceeding.
1-17 Each attorney ad litem appointed under this section is entitled to
1-18 reasonable compensation for services in the amount set by the court
1-19 and to be taxed as costs in the proceeding.
1-20 SECTION 2. Section 50, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
1-21 amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
1-22 follows:
1-23 (b) If the address of a person or entity on whom citation is
1-24 required to be served cannot be ascertained, citation shall be
1-25 served on the person or entity by publication in the county in
1-26 which the proceedings are commenced, and if the decedent resided in
1-27 another county, then a citation shall also be published in the
1-28 county of the decedent's [his] last residence. To determine
1-29 whether there are any other heirs, citation [Unknown heirs] shall
1-30 also be served on unknown heirs by publication in the manner
1-31 provided by this subsection.
1-32 (e) A parent, managing conservator, guardian, attorney ad
1-33 litem, or guardian ad litem of a distributee who is at least 12
1-34 years of age but younger than 19 years of age may not waive
1-35 citation required to be served on the distributee under this
1-36 section.
1-37 SECTION 3. The heading of Section 53, Texas Probate Code, is
1-38 amended to read as follows:
1-39 Sec. 53. EVIDENCE; UNKNOWN PARTIES AND INCAPACITATED PERSONS
1-40 SECTION 4. Section 53, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
1-41 adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
1-42 (c) The court shall appoint an attorney ad litem to
1-43 represent the interests of unknown heirs.
1-44 SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
1-45 34A and 50(b), Texas Probate Code, and by Sections 50(e) and 53(c),
1-46 as added by this Act, apply only to an application for
1-47 determination of heirship filed on or after the effective date of
1-48 this Act. An application for determination of heirship filed
1-49 before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
1-50 effect on the date on which the application was filed, and the
1-51 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
1-52 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-53 * * * * *