HBA-JLV C.S.H.B. 3467 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3467 By: Hartnett Judicial Affairs 4/26/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires the clerk of a court to issue a citation to all parties interested in an estate when there is an application for the probate of a noncupative will or for a written will which cannot be produced in court. No action can be taken on probating a will until service of citation is made. However, there are instances when an heir does not object to the offering of the will which means that wills may be probated and settled more efficiently. C.S.H.B. 3467 provides that the filing or contesting in probate court of any pleading relating to a decedent's estate does not constitute tortious interference with inheritance of the estate and provides that when a written will cannot be produced in court, an heir may waive service of citation by delivering an affidavit to the court stating that the heir does not object to the offer of the testator's will for probate. 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 C.S.H.B. 3467 amends the Texas Probate Code to provide that the filing or contesting in probate court of any pleading relating to a decedent's estate does not constitute tortious interference with inheritance of the estate. In the case of an application for the probate of a written will that cannot be produced in court, a citation is not required to be issued to an heir who has delivered to the court an affidavit signed by the heir stating that the heir does not object to the offer of the testator's will for probate. The affidavit and citation must also contain a statement that an original will cannot be produced in court, and the testator's property will pass to the testator's heirs if a copy of the written will is not admitted to probate. If an application for the probate of a written will not produced in court is filed and the residence of any of the testator's heirs cannot be ascertained by the clerk, the court is required to appoint an attorney ad litem to protect the interests of unknown heirs. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3467 modifies the original by removing provisions which provided that if, at the time of a testator's death or at the time of the death of a decedent who dies intestate, a petition for divorce filed by the testator or the surviving spouse was pending in a court, all provisions in the will appointing the surviving spouse to any fiduciary capacity under the will or with respect to the estate or person of the testator's children, must be read as if the surviving spouse failed to survive the testator, and are null and void and of no effect unless the will expressly provides otherwise, if in the divorce action either spouse has signed and filed a sworn statement that there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation and the divorce petition and statement were both filed not later than the 61st day before the date of the decedent's death. The substitute no longer deletes the requirement that the social security numbers of the applicant and decedent be included on an application for probate of a will as a muniment to title.