AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Under current law, a clerk of a court is required to mail a copy of a final decree of dissolution of a marriage to a party who waived service of process. These mailings can be very costly, and in many cases the party to whom the decree is sent no longer lives at the address listed with the clerk.
H.B. 2422 provides that once a final decree of dissolution of a marriage is signed, the clerk of the court must send a notice to a party who waived service of process notifying the person that the order has been signed and that copy of the order is available at the office of the clerk.
H.B. 2422 amends current law relating to the procedure for providing a copy of the final decree of dissolution of a marriage to a party who waived service of process.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 6.710, Family Code, as follows:
Sec. 6.710. New heading: NOTICE OF FINAL DECREE. Requires the clerk of the court to mail a notice of the signing of the final decree of dissolution of a marriage to the party who waived service of process under Section 6.4035 (Waiver of Service) at the mailing address contained in the waiver or the office of the party's attorney of record, rather than requiring the clerk of the court to mail a copy of the final decree of dissolution of a marriage to the party who waived service of process under Section 6.4035 by mailing the copy of the decree to the party at the mailing address contained in the waiver or to the office of the party's attorney of record. Requires that the notice state that a copy of the decree is available at the office of the clerk of the court and include the physical address of that office.
SECTION 2. Makes application of Section 6.710, Family Code, as amended by this Act, prospective.
SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2011.