HBA-SEP H.B. 1883 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1883
By: Thompson
Judicial Affairs
3/15/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Adult Protective Services has indicated that reports of elderly abuse,
neglect, and exploitation have risen by 267 percent in the last decade.  As
a result, the Silver-Haired Legislature this past year recommended amending
the Durable Power of Attorney Act to institute a waiting period for certain
transactions involving an elderly principal and to require an attorney to
file a bond, obtain court approval, or both before completing such a
transaction.  House Bill 1883 institutes a three-day waiting period for
certain transactions involving an elderly principal and requires an
attorney in fact or agent to file a bond, obtain court approval, or both
before completing such a transaction. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1883 amends the Texas Probate Code to prohibit an attorney in
fact or agent  (attorney) acting under a durable power of attorney for a
principal who is 55 years of age or older on the date of the transaction
from selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring the principal's interest
in property with a reasonable market value of $15,000 or more but less than
$50,000 unless a court in the county in which the principal resides
approves the transaction or the attorney files, with the clerk of a court
in which the principal resides, a surety bond in the amount of $50,000
payable to the court.  If the property's market value is $50,000 or more,
the court must approve the transaction for an attorney to sell, lease, or
transfer the principal's interest.  The court is authorized to require an
independent appraisal of the property to establish the property's value.
The bill authorizes a court in the county in which the principal resides,
on the motion of the court or of a person interested in the principal's
welfare, after notice and hearing, to revoke a durable power of attorney if
the court determines by a preponderance of the evidence that revocation of
the instrument would be in the best interest of the principal or that the
attorney violated the above provisions.   Such a transaction does not take
effect until midnight of the third business day after the date on which the
attorney signs the agreement. 

The bill authorizes a person who executes a durable power of attorney that
confers authority with respect to the person's property to empower the
attorney designated under the instrument to act with respect to all or part
of the property without the requirement of a bond or court approval if the
durable power of attorney contains a clear statement to that effect.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.