This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

 
 
  S.B. No. 617
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the payment of the child support obligation of a
  deceased child support obligor.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subsection (a), Section 154.006, Family Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly
  provided in the order or as provided by Subsection (b), the child
  support order terminates on:
               (1)  the marriage of the child;
               (2)  the removal of the child's disabilities for
  general purposes;
               (3)  the death of[:
                     [(A)]  the child; [or
                     [(B)  a parent ordered to pay child support; or]
               (4)  a finding by a court that the child:
                     (A)  is 18 years of age or older; and
                     (B)  has failed to comply with the enrollment or
  attendance requirements described by Section 154.002(a); or
               (5)  if the child enlists in the armed forces of the
  United States, the date on which the child begins active service as
  defined by 10 U.S.C. Section 101.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 154, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 154.015 and 154.016 to read as follows:
         Sec. 154.015.  ACCELERATION OF UNPAID CHILD SUPPORT
  OBLIGATION. (a)  In this section, "estate" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 3, Texas Probate Code.
         (b)  If the child support obligor dies before the child
  support obligation terminates, the remaining unpaid balance of the
  child support obligation becomes payable on the date the obligor
  dies.
         (c)  For purposes of this section, the court of continuing
  jurisdiction shall determine the amount of the unpaid child support
  obligation for each child of the deceased obligor.  In determining
  the amount of the unpaid child support obligation, the court shall
  consider all relevant factors, including:
               (1)  the present value of the total amount of monthly
  periodic child support payments that would become due between the
  month in which the obligor dies and the month in which the child
  turns 18 years of age, based on the amount of the periodic monthly
  child support payments under the child support order in effect on
  the date of the obligor's death;
               (2)  the present value of the total amount of health
  insurance premiums payable for the benefit of the child from the
  month in which the obligor dies until the month in which the child
  turns 18 years of age, based on the cost of health insurance for the
  child ordered to be paid on the date of the obligor's death;
               (3)  in the case of a disabled child under 18 years of
  age or an adult disabled child, an amount to be determined by the
  court under Section 154.306;
               (4)  the nature and amount of any benefit to which the
  child would be entitled as a result of the obligor's death,
  including life insurance proceeds, annuity payments, trust
  distributions, social security death benefits, and retirement
  survivor benefits; and
               (5)  any other financial resource available for the
  support of the child.
         (d)  If, after considering all relevant factors, the court
  finds that the child support obligation has been satisfied, the
  court shall render an order terminating the child support
  obligation. If the court finds that the child support obligation is
  not satisfied, the court shall render a judgment in favor of the
  obligee, for the benefit of the child, in the amount of the unpaid
  child support obligation determined under Subsection (c). The
  order must designate the obligee as constructive trustee, for the
  benefit of the child, of any money received in satisfaction of the
  judgment.
         (e)  The obligee has a claim, on behalf of the child, against
  the deceased obligor's estate for the unpaid child support
  obligation determined under Subsection (c).  The obligee may
  present the claim in the manner provided by the Texas Probate Code.
         (f)  If money paid to the obligee for the benefit of the child
  exceeds the amount of the unpaid child support obligation remaining
  at the time of the obligor's death, the obligee shall hold the
  excess amount as constructive trustee for the benefit of the
  deceased obligor's estate until the obligee delivers the excess
  amount to the legal representative of the deceased obligor's
  estate.
         Sec. 154.016.  PROVISION OF SUPPORT IN EVENT OF DEATH OF
  PARENT.  (a)  The court may order a child support obligor to obtain
  and maintain a life insurance policy, including a decreasing term
  life insurance policy, that will establish an insurance-funded
  trust or an annuity payable to the obligee for the benefit of the
  child that will satisfy the support obligation under the child
  support order in the event of the obligor's death.
         (b)  In determining the nature and extent of the obligation
  to provide for the support of the child in the event of the death of
  the obligor, the court shall consider all relevant factors,
  including:
               (1)  the present value of the total amount of monthly
  periodic child support payments from the date the child support
  order is rendered until the month in which the child turns 18 years
  of age, based on the amount of the periodic monthly child support
  payment under the child support order;
               (2)  the present value of the total amount of health
  insurance premiums payable for the benefit of the child from the
  date the child support order is rendered until the month in which
  the child turns 18 years of age, based on the cost of health
  insurance for the child ordered to be paid; and
               (3)  in the case of a disabled child under 18 years of
  age or an adult disabled child, an amount to be determined by the
  court under Section 154.306.
         (c)  The court may, on its own motion or on a motion of the
  obligee, require the child support obligor to provide proof
  satisfactory to the court verifying compliance with the order
  rendered under this section.
         SECTION 3.  Section 322, Texas Probate Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 322.  CLASSIFICATION OF CLAIMS AGAINST ESTATES OF
  DECEDENT.  Claims against an estate of a decedent shall be
  classified and have priority of payment, as follows:
         Class 1.  Funeral expenses and expenses of last sickness for
  a reasonable amount to be approved by the court, not to exceed a
  total of Fifteen Thousand Dollars, with any excess to be classified
  and paid as other unsecured claims.
         Class 2.  Expenses of administration and expenses incurred
  in the preservation, safekeeping, and management of the estate,
  including fees and expenses awarded under Section 243 of this code,
  and unpaid expenses of administration awarded in a guardianship of
  the decedent.
         Class 3.  Secured claims for money under Section 306(a)(1),
  including tax liens, so far as the same can be paid out of the
  proceeds of the property subject to such mortgage or other lien, and
  when more than one mortgage, lien, or security interest shall exist
  upon the same property, they shall be paid in order of their
  priority.
         Class 4.  Claims for the principal amount of and accrued
  interest on delinquent child support and child support arrearages
  that have been confirmed and reduced to money judgment, as
  determined under Subchapter F, Chapter 157, Family Code, and claims
  for unpaid child support obligations under Section 154.015, Family
  Code.
         Class 5.  Claims for taxes, penalties, and interest due
  under Title 2, Tax Code; Chapter 8, Title 132, Revised Statutes;
  Section 81.111, Natural Resources Code; the Municipal Sales and Use
  Tax Act (Chapter 321, Tax Code); Section 451.404, Transportation
  Code; or Subchapter I, Chapter 452, Transportation Code.
         Class 6.  Claims for the cost of confinement established by
  the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal
  Justice under Section 501.017, Government Code.
         Class 7.  Claims for repayment of medical assistance
  payments made by the state under Chapter 32, Human Resources Code,
  to or for the benefit of the decedent.
         Class 8.  All other claims.
         SECTION 4.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
  this section, the changes in law made in this Act by the amendment
  of Subsection (a), Section 154.006 and the addition of Section
  154.016, Family Code, apply to an order for child support issued
  before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  The changes in law made in this Act by the addition of
  Section 154.015, Family Code, and the amendment of Section 322,
  Texas Probate Code, apply only to the estate of a decedent who dies
  on or after the effective date of this Act. The estate of a decedent
  who dies before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
  law in effect on the date of the decedent'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 hereby certify that S.B. No. 617 passed the Senate on
  April 26, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 25, 2007, by the
  following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 617 passed the House, with
  amendment, on May 23, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 144,
  Nays 0, two present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor