H.B. No. 568
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the requirements for an affidavit of voluntary
  relinquishment of parental rights and to the inheritance rights of
  certain parents.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 161.103(b), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The affidavit must contain:
               (1)  the name, county of residence [address], and age
  of the parent whose parental rights are being relinquished;
               (2)  the name, age, and birth date of the child;
               (3)  the names and addresses of the guardians of the
  person and estate of the child, if any;
               (4)  a statement that the affiant is or is not presently
  obligated by court order to make payments for the support of the
  child;
               (5)  a full description and statement of value of all
  property owned or possessed by the child;
               (6)  an allegation that termination of the parent-child
  relationship is in the best interest of the child;
               (7)  one of the following, as applicable:
                     (A)  the name and county of residence [address] of
  the other parent;
                     (B)  a statement that the parental rights of the
  other parent have been terminated by death or court order; or
                     (C)  a statement that the child has no presumed
  father and that an affidavit of status of the child has been
  executed as provided by this chapter;
               (8)  a statement that the parent has been informed of
  parental rights and duties;
               (9)  a statement that the relinquishment is revocable,
  that the relinquishment is irrevocable, or that the relinquishment
  is irrevocable for a stated period of time;
               (10)  if the relinquishment is revocable, a statement
  in boldfaced type concerning the right of the parent signing the
  affidavit to revoke the relinquishment only if the revocation is
  made before the 11th day after the date the affidavit is executed;
               (11)  if the relinquishment is revocable, the name and
  address of a person to whom the revocation is to be delivered; and
               (12)  the designation of a prospective adoptive parent,
  the Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services,
  if the department has consented in writing to the designation, or a
  licensed child-placing agency to serve as managing conservator of
  the child and the address of the person or agency.
         SECTION 2.  Section 41, Texas Probate Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
         (e)  Parent-Child Relationship.  A probate court may declare
  that the parent of a child under 18 years of age may not inherit from
  or through the child under the laws of descent and distribution if
  the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent
  has:
               (1)  voluntarily abandoned and failed to support the
  child in accordance with the parent's obligation or ability for at
  least three years before the date of the child's death, and did not
  resume support for the child before that date;
               (2)  voluntarily and with knowledge of the pregnancy,
  abandoned the mother of the child beginning at a time during her
  pregnancy with the child and continuing through the birth, failed
  to provide adequate support or medical care for the mother during
  the period of abandonment before the birth of the child, and
  remained apart from and failed to support the child since birth; or
               (3)  been convicted or has been placed on community
  supervision, including deferred adjudication community
  supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or
  serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal
  Code or adjudicated under Title 3, Family Code, for conduct that
  caused the death or serious injury of a child and that would
  constitute a violation of one of the following sections of the Penal
  Code:
                     (A)  Section 19.02 (murder);
                     (B)  Section 19.03 (capital murder);
                     (C)  Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
                     (D)  Section 21.11 (indecency with a child);
                     (E)  Section 22.01 (assault);
                     (F)  Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
                     (G)  Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
                     (H)  Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual assault);
                     (I)  Section 22.04 (injury to a child, elderly
  individual, or disabled individual);
                     (J)  Section 22.041 (abandoning or endangering
  child);
                     (K)  Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual conduct);
                     (L)  Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a
  child); or
                     (M)  Section 43.26 (possession or promotion of
  child pornography).
         (f)  Treatment of Certain Relationships.  On a determination
  that the parent of a child may not inherit from or through the child
  under Subsection (e) of this section, the parent shall be treated as
  if the parent predeceased the child for purposes of:
               (1)  inheritance under the laws of descent and
  distribution; and
               (2)  any other cause of action based on parentage.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an affidavit of voluntary relinquishment of parental rights
  executed on or after the effective date of this Act. An affidavit
  executed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
  law in effect on the date the affidavit was executed, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 4.  Notwithstanding Section 3 of this Act, the
  changes in law made by this Act to Section 41, Texas Probate Code,
  apply only to the estate of a person who dies on or after the
  effective date of this Act. An estate of a person who dies before
  the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect on the
  date of the person's death, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 568 was passed by the House on May 1,
  2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
  H.B. No. 568 on May 25, 2007, and requested the appointment of a
  conference committee to consider the differences between the two
  houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
  on H.B. No. 568 on May 27, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 140,
  Nays 1, 2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 568 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 22, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays
  0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
  committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
  that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
  568 on May 27, 2007, by the following vote:  Yeas 30, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor