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Texas Statutes (Last Updated: January 4, 2014) |
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PROBATE CODE |
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Chapter XIII. GUARDIANSHIP |
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Part 3. APPOINTMENT AND QUALIFICATION OF GUARDIANS |
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Subpart A. APPOINTMENT |
Sec. 683. COURT'S INITIATION OF GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDINGS
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(a) If a court has probable cause to believe that a person domiciled or found in the county in which the court is located is an incapacitated person, and the person does not have a guardian in this state, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem or court investigator to investigate the person's conditions and circumstances to determine whether the person is an incapacitated person and whether a guardianship is necessary. If after the investigation the guardian ad litem or court investigator believes that the person is an incapacitated person and that a guardianship is necessary, the guardian ad litem or court investigator shall file an application for the appointment of a guardian of the person or estate, or both, for the person.
(b) To establish probable cause under this section, the court may require:
(1) an information letter about the person believed to be incapacitated that is submitted by an interested person and satisfies the requirements of Section 683A of this code; or
(2) a written letter or certificate from a physician who has examined the person believed to be incapacitated that satisfies the requirements of Section 687(a) of this code, except that the letter must be dated not earlier than the 120th day before the date of the appointment of a guardian ad litem or court investigator under Subsection (a) of this section and be based on an examination the physician performed not earlier than the 120th day before that date.
(c) A court that appoints a guardian ad litem under Subsection (a) of this section may authorize compensation of the guardian ad litem from available funds of the proposed ward's estate, regardless of whether a guardianship is created for the proposed ward. If after examining the ward's or proposed ward's assets the court determines the ward or proposed ward is unable to pay for services provided by the guardian ad litem, the court may authorize compensation from the county treasury.