HBA-JLV H.B. 2152 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2152
By: Averitt
Judicial Affairs
3/26/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, the Texas Probate Code provides that a devise or bequest
made to an attorney, an attorney's heir, or an employee of the attorney who
prepares or supervises the preparation of a will is void. However, a person
who makes a bequest and was related within the second degree of
consanguinity or affinity to the testator is excepted from this provision.
While the statute itself applies to devises or bequests, the exception only
applies to bequests and could be construed to disallow any gift of real
estate to the spouse or child of the attorney.  In addition, gifts to great
grandchildren of the testator are disallowed by current statutes, if those
great grandchildren were the heirs of the attorney preparing the will
because they are not within the second degree of consanguinity.  House Bill
2152 includes the testator's spouse, an ascendant or descendant of the
testator, or a person that is related within the third degree by
consanguinity or affinity to the testator among persons allowed to make a
valid devise or bequest to an attorney  

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 2152 amends the Probate Code to provide that a person who makes
a devise or bequest  to a person who is the testator's spouse, an ascendant
or descendant of the testator, or is related within the third degree,
instead of second degree, by consanguinity or affinity to the testator, is
exempted from provisions providing that such devises and bequests are void. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.