Sec. 694F. EXAMINATIONS AND REPORTS RELATING TO COMPLETE RESTORATION OF WARD'S CAPACITY OR MODIFICATION OF GUARDIANSHIP

(a) The court may not grant an order completely restoring a ward's capacity or modifying a ward's guardianship under an application filed under Section 694A of this code unless, in addition to other requirements prescribed by this code, the applicant presents to the court a written letter or certificate from a physician licensed in this state that is dated not earlier than the 120th day before the date of the filing of the application or dated after the date on which the application was filed but before the date of the hearing. The letter or certificate must:

(1) describe the nature and degree of incapacity, including the medical history if reasonably available, or state that, in the physician's opinion, the ward has the capacity to provide food, clothing, and shelter for himself or herself, to care for the ward's own physical health, and to manage the financial affairs of the ward;

(2) provide a medical prognosis specifying the estimated severity of any incapacity;

(3) state how or in what manner the ward's ability to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning himself or herself is affected by the person's physical or mental health;

(4) state whether any current medication affects the demeanor of the ward or the ward's ability to participate fully in a court proceeding;

(5) describe the precise physical and mental conditions underlying a diagnosis of senility, if applicable; and

(6) include any other information required by the court.

(b) If the court determines it is necessary, the court may appoint the necessary physicians to examine the ward in the same manner and to the same extent as a ward is examined by a physician under Section 687 of this code.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 829, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.