HBA-KDB S.B. 1417 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1417
By: Lindsay
Judicial Affairs
5/15/2001
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a guardian or temporary guardian of an estate is
entitled to be paid a fee of five percent of the gross income of the ward's
estate and five percent of all money paid out of the estate.  If a probate
court (court) finds this amount to be unreasonably low, it can authorize
reasonable compensation for the guardian, but there are no statutory
guidelines to determine if that amount is unreasonably low or who is to
determine a subsequent reasonable compensation.  In addition, there is no
provision that explicitly entitles a guardian to be reimbursed for the
payment of attorney's fees incurred by the guardian for the management of
the estate or any other guardianship matter.  Senate Bill 1417 entitles the
guardian or temporary guardian of an estate to reasonable compensation for
management of the estate, authorizes the court to review and modify the
amount of compensation if the court finds that the amount is unreasonably
low, and specifies that a guardian is entitled to reasonable attorney's
fees. 

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

Senate Bill 1417 amends the Texas Probate Code to entitle the guardian or
temporary guardian of an estate to reasonable compensation on application
to the probate court (court) at the time the court approves any annual
accounting or final accounting filed by the guardian or temporary guardian.
On application of an interested person or on its own motion, the court is
authorized to  review and modify the amount of such compensation if the
court finds that the amount is reasonably low when considering the services
rendered as guardian or temporary guardian.  The bill prohibits a finding
of unreasonably low compensation from being established solely because the
amount of compensation is less than the usual and customary charges of the
person or entity serving as guardian or temporary guardian. 

The bill  specifies that a guardian is entitled to be reimbursed for the
payment of reasonable attorney's fees necessarily incurred by the guardian
in connection with the management of the estate or any other guardianship
matter. 

The bill deletes the provision that a guardian's expense charges are
required to be entered on a court's claim docket.  The bill requires all of
a guardian's expense charges to be paid only if the payment is authorized
by court order, rather than acted on by the court in the same manner as
other claims against the guardianship estate. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.