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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 5. SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS AND ORDERS |
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Subpart E. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS WITHOUT GUARDIANSHIP |
Sec. 887. PAYMENT OF CLAIMS WITHOUT GUARDIANSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION OF TERMINATED GUARDIANSHIP ASSETS
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(a) When a resident person who is a minor or other incapacitated person, or the former ward of a guardianship terminated under Subpart C, Part 4, of this code, who are referred to in this section as "creditor," are without a legal guardian of the person's estate, and the person is entitled to money in an amount that is $100,000 or less, the right to which is liquidated and is uncontested in any pending lawsuit, the debtor may pay the money to the county clerk of the county in which the creditor resides to the account of the creditor, giving the creditor's name, the creditor's social security identification number, the nature of the creditor's disability, and, if the creditor is a minor, the minor's age, and the creditor's post-office address. The receipt for the money signed by the clerk is binding on the creditor as of the date of receipt and to the extent of the payment. The clerk, by letter mailed to the address given by the debtor, shall apprise the creditor of the fact that the deposit was made. On receipt of the payment by the clerk, the clerk shall call the receipt of the payment to the court's attention and shall invest the money as authorized under this chapter pursuant to court order in the name and for the account of the minor or other person entitled to the money. Any increase, dividend, or income from an investment made under this section shall be credited to the account of the minor or other person entitled to the investment. Any money that is deposited under the terms of this section that has not been paid out shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter not later than October 1, 1993.
(b) Not later than March 1 of each calendar year, the clerk of the court shall make a written report to the court of the status of an investment made by the clerk under this section. The report must contain:
(1) the amount of the original investment or the amount of the investment at the last annual report, whichever is later;
(2) any increase, dividend, or income from such investment since the last annual report;
(3) the total amount of the investment and all increases, dividends, or income at the date of the report; and
(4) the name of the depository or the type of investment.
(c) The father or mother, or unestranged spouse, of the creditor, with priority being given to the spouse who resides in this state or if there is no spouse and both father and mother are dead or are nonresidents of this state, then the person who resides in this state who has actual custody of the creditor, as custodian and on filing with the clerk written application and bond approved by the county judge of the county, may withdraw the money from the clerk for the use and benefit of the creditor, the bond to be in double the amount of the money and to be payable to the judge or the judge's successors in office and to be conditioned that the custodian will use the money for the creditor's benefit under directions of the court and that the custodian, when legally called on to do so, will faithfully account to the creditor and the creditor's heirs or legal representatives for the money and any increase to the money on the removal of the disability to which the creditor is subject, or on the creditor's death, or the appointment of a guardian for the creditor. A fee or commission may not be allowed to the custodian for taking care of, handling, or expending the money withdrawn by the custodian.
(d) When the custodian has expended the money in accordance with directions of the court or has otherwise complied with the terms of the custodian's bond by accounting for the money and any increase in the money, the custodian shall file with the county clerk of the county the custodian's sworn report of the custodian's accounting. The filing of the custodian's report, when approved by the court, operates as a discharge of the person as custodian and of the person's sureties from all further liability under the bond. The court shall satisfy itself that the report is true and correct and may require proof as in other cases.
(e) When a nonresident minor, a nonresident person who is adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be incapacitated, or the former ward of a guardianship terminated under Subpart C, Part 4, of this code who has no legal guardian qualified in this state is entitled to money in an amount that is not more than $100,000 owing as a result of transactions within this state, the right to which is liquidated and is uncontested in any pending lawsuit in this state, the debtor in this state may pay the money to the guardian of the creditor who is duly qualified in the domiciliary jurisdiction or to the county clerk of any county in this state in which real property owned by the nonresident person is located. If the person is not known to own any real property in any county in this state the debtor has the right to pay the money to the county clerk of the county of this state in which the debtor resides. In either case, the debtor's payment to the clerk is for the use and benefit and for the account of the nonresident creditor. The receipt for the payment signed by the clerk that recites the name of the creditor and the post office address of the creditor, if known, is binding on the creditor as of the date and to the extent of the payment. The clerk shall handle the money paid to the clerk by the debtor in the same manner as provided for cases of payments to the accounts of residents of this state under Subsections (a)-(d) of this section. All applicable provisions of Subsections (a)-(d) of this section apply to the handling and disposition of money or any increase, dividend, or income paid to the clerk for the use, benefit, and account of the nonresident creditor.
(f) If a person who is authorized to withdraw the money does not withdraw the money from the clerk as provided for in this section, the creditor, after termination of the creditor's disability, or the subsequent personal representative of the creditor or the creditor's heirs may withdraw, at any time and without special bond for the purpose, the money on simply exhibiting to the clerk an order of the county or probate court of the county where the money is held by the clerk that directs the clerk to deliver the money to the creditor, to the creditor's personal representative, or to the creditor's heirs named in the order. Before the court issues an order under this subsection, the person's identity and the person's credentials must be proved to the court's satisfaction.
(g) When it is made to appear to the judge of a county court, district court, or other court of this state, by an affidavit executed by the superintendent, business manager, or field representative of any eleemosynary institution of this state, that a certain inmate in the institution is a person who has a mental disability, an incapacitated person, or a person whose mental illness or mental incapacity, or both, renders the person incapable of caring for himself and of managing the person's own property and financial affairs, there is no known legal guardian appointed for the estate of the inmate, and there is on deposit in the court registry a certain sum of money that belongs to the inmate that does not exceed $10,000, the court may order the disposition of the funds as provided by this subsection. The court, on satisfactory proof by affidavit or otherwise that the inmate is a person who has a mental disability, an incapacitated person, or a person whose mental illness or mental incapacity, or both, renders the inmate incapable of caring for the inmate's self and of managing the inmate's own property and financial affairs and is without a legally appointed guardian of the inmate's estate, may by order direct the clerk of the court to pay the money to the institution for the use and benefit of the inmate. The state institution to which the payment is made may not be required to give bond or security for receiving the fund from the court registry, and the receipt from the state institution for the payment, or the canceled check or warrant by which the payment was made, shall be sufficient evidence of the disposition of the payment. The clerk of the court is relieved of further responsibility for the disposition. On receipt of the money, the institution shall deposit all of the amount of money received to the trust account of the inmate. The money deposited by the institution in the trust account is to be used by or for the personal use of the owner of the trust account under the rules or custom of the institution in the expenditure of the funds by the inmate or for the use and benefit of the inmate by the responsible officer of the institution. This subsection is cumulative of all other laws affecting the rights of a person who has a mental disability, an incapacitated person, or a person who has a mental illness and affecting money that belongs to the person as an inmate of a state eleemosynary institution. If the inmate dies leaving a balance in the inmate's trust account, the balance may be applied to the burial expenses of the inmate or applied to the care, support, and treatment account of the inmate at the eleemosynary institution. After the expenditure of all funds in the trust account or after the death of the inmate, the responsible officer shall furnish a statement of expenditures of the funds to the nearest relative who is entitled to receive the statement. A copy of the statement shall be filed with the court that first granted the order to dispose of the funds in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.