79R13522 PAM-F


By:  Hartnett                                                     H.B. No. 3434

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3434:                                   

By:  Hartnett                                                 C.S.H.B. No. 3434



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to testamentary and nontestamentary transfers of property 
and other benefits and the administration of those benefits.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 131A(d), Probate Code, is amended to 
read as follows:    
	(d)  Not later than the third business day after [On] the 
date of the order, the appointee shall file with the county clerk a 
bond in the amount ordered by the court.  In this subsection, 
"business day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday 
recognized by this state.
	SECTION 2.  Section 248, Probate Code, is amended to read as 
follows:        
	Sec. 248.  APPOINTMENT OF APPRAISERS.  At any time after the 
grant of letters testamentary or of administration, [upon the 
application of any interested person or if the court shall deem 
necessary,] the court for good cause on its own motion or on the 
motion of an interested party shall appoint not less than one nor 
more than three disinterested persons, citizens of the county in 
which letters were granted, to appraise the property of the estate.  
In such event and when part of the estate is situated in a county 
other than the county in which letters were granted, if the court 
shall deem necessary it may appoint not less than one nor more than 
three disinterested persons, citizens of the county where such part 
of the estate is situated, to appraise the property of the estate 
situated therein.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter A, Chapter 113, Property Code, is 
amended by adding Section 113.028 to read as follows:
	Sec. 113.028.  PARTICIPATION IN CERTAIN CAUSES OF ACTION 
PROHIBITED.  (a)  A trustee may not prosecute or participate in a 
cause of action if each beneficiary of the trust provides written 
notice to the trustee of the beneficiary's opposition to the 
trustee's prosecuting or participating in the cause of action.
	(b)  This section does not apply to a cause of action:                  
		(1)  that is prosecuted by a trustee in the trustee's 
individual capacity or in which the trustee participates in the 
trustee's individual capacity; or
		(2)  that relates to the administration of the trust, 
including a proceeding to:
			(A)  construe the trust instrument;                                   
			(B)  determine the law applicable to the trust 
instrument;          
			(C)  appoint or remove a trustee;                                     
			(D)  determine the powers, responsibilities, 
duties, or liabilities of the trustee;
			(E)  ascertain the beneficiaries of the trust;                        
			(F)  make a determination of fact affecting the 
administration, distribution, or duration of the trust;
			(G)  determine a question arising in the 
administration or distribution of the trust;
			(H)  relieve the trustee from any duty, 
limitation, or restriction otherwise existing under the trust 
instrument or this subtitle;
			(I)  require an accounting by the trustee, review 
trustee fees, or settle interim or final accounts of the trust; or
			(J)  impose a surcharge on the trustee.                               
	(c)  The trustee is not liable for failing to prosecute or 
participate in a cause of action prohibited by the beneficiaries 
under Subsection (a).
	SECTION 4.  (a)  Sections 131A and 248, Probate Code, as 
amended by this Act, apply only to the estate of a decedent who dies 
on or after the effective date of this Act.  The estate of a decedent 
who dies before the effective date of this Act is governed by the 
law in effect on the date of the decedent's death, and the former 
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  Section 113.028, Property Code, as added by this Act, 
applies only to a cause of action filed on or after the effective 
date of this Act.  A cause of action filed before the effective date 
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the cause of 
action was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that 
purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.