Sec. 113. ORDERS OF EMERGENCY INTERVENTION

(a) If the court determines on review of an application filed under Section 108 of this code that emergency intervention is necessary to obtain funds needed for a decedent's funeral and burial expenses, the court may order funds of the decedent held by an employer, individual, or financial institution to be paid directly to a funeral home only for reasonable and necessary attorney's fees for the attorney who obtained the order granted under this section, for court costs for obtaining the order, and for funeral and burial expenses not to exceed $5,000 as ordered by the court to provide the decedent with a reasonable, dignified, and appropriate funeral and burial.

(b) If the court determines on review of an application filed under Section 108 of this code that emergency intervention is necessary to gain access to accommodations rented by the decedent at the time of the decedent's death that contain the decedent's personal property, the court may order one or more of the following:

(1) the owner or agent of the rental accommodations shall grant the applicant access to the accommodations at a reasonable time and in the presence of the owner or agent;

(2) the applicant and owner or agent of the rental accommodations shall jointly prepare and file with the court a list that generally describes the decedent's property found at the premises;

(3) the applicant or the owner or agent of the rental accommodations may remove and store the decedent's property at another location until claimed by the decedent's heirs;

(4) the applicant has only the powers that are specifically stated in the order and that are necessary to protect the decedent's property that is the subject of the application; or

(5) funds of the decedent held by an employer, individual, or financial institution to be paid to the applicant for reasonable and necessary attorney's fees and court costs for obtaining the order.

(c) The court clerk may issue certified copies of an emergency intervention order on request of the applicant only until the 90th day after the date the order was signed or the date a personal representative is qualified, whichever occurs first.

(d) A person who is furnished with a certified copy of an emergency intervention order within the period described by Subsection (c) of this section is not personally liable for the person's actions that are taken in accordance with and in reliance on the order.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 712, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 642, Sec. 10, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Renumbered from V.A.T.S., Probate Code Sec. 523 and amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 199, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.