By: Dutton (Senate Sponsor - Hughes) H.B. No. 4765

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023; May 5, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Jurisprudence; May 17, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 17, 2023, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE VOTE

YeaNayAbsentPNV

HughesX

JohnsonX

CreightonX

HinojosaX

MiddletonX

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to inheritance rights of adoptive parents.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 201.054(e), Estates Code, is amended to read as follows:

(e) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Adopted [, "adopted] child" means a child:

(A) [(1)] adopted through an existing or former statutory procedure; or

(B) [(2)] considered by a court to be equitably adopted or adopted by acts of estoppel.

(2) "Adoptive parent" means a parent:

(A) who adopted a child through an existing or former statutory procedure; or

(B) considered by a court to have equitably adopted a child or adopted a child by acts of estoppel.

SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act to Section 201.054, Estates Code, applies 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.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.

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