HBA-JLV H.B. 3467 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3467 By: Hartnett Judicial Affairs 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law provides that if, after making a will, a testator is divorced or a testator's marriage is annulled, all provisions in the will in favor of the testator's former spouse, or appointment of such a spouse to fiduciary capacity under the will with respect to the estate or person of the testator's children, must be read as if the former spouse failed to survive the testator, and the will is considered null and void and of no effect unless the will expressly provides otherwise. Many believe that a surviving spouse who has filed for divorce in which the parties believe there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation, should not be able to benefit from a decedent testator as well. House Bill 3467 provides that a surviving spouse that has filed for divorce in which the parties believe there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation, should not be able to benefit from a decedent testator or intestate absent some other affirmative showing to the contrary. 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 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. The bill provides 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 bill removes 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. The bill provides that when an application is made for the probate of a written will that cannot be produced in court, an heir may waive service of citation by delivering a signed affidavit to the court stating that the heir does not object to the offer of the testator's will for probate. The affidavit 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 heir 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 protest the interests of unknown heirs. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.