S.B. No. 815
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a temporary restraining order for preservation of
  property and protection of the parties in a suit for the dissolution
  of marriage.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 6.501(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  After the filing of a suit for dissolution of a
  marriage, on the motion of a party or on the court's own motion, the
  court may grant a temporary restraining order without notice to the
  adverse party for the preservation of the property and for the
  protection of the parties as necessary, including an order
  prohibiting one or both parties from:
               (1)  intentionally communicating in person or in any
  other manner, including by telephone or another electronic voice
  transmission, video chat, [or] in writing, or electronic messaging,
  with the other party by use of vulgar, profane, obscene, or indecent
  language or in a coarse or offensive manner, with intent to annoy or
  alarm the other party;
               (2)  threatening the other party in person or in any
  other manner, including by telephone or another electronic voice
  transmission, video chat, [or] in writing, or electronic messaging,
  to take unlawful action against any person, intending by this
  action to annoy or alarm the other party;
               (3)  placing a telephone call, anonymously, at an
  unreasonable hour, in an offensive and repetitious manner, or
  without a legitimate purpose of communication with the intent to
  annoy or alarm the other party;
               (4)  intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing
  bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party;
               (5)  threatening the other party or a child of either
  party with imminent bodily injury;
               (6)  intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly
  destroying, removing, concealing, encumbering, transferring, or
  otherwise harming or reducing the value of the property of the
  parties or either party with intent to obstruct the authority of the
  court to order a division of the estate of the parties in a manner
  that the court deems just and right, having due regard for the
  rights of each party and any children of the marriage;
               (7)  intentionally falsifying a writing or record,
  including an electronic record, relating to the property of either
  party;
               (8)  intentionally misrepresenting or refusing to
  disclose to the other party or to the court, on proper request, the
  existence, amount, or location of any tangible or intellectual
  property of the parties or either party, including electronically
  stored or recorded information;
               (9)  intentionally or knowingly damaging or destroying
  the tangible or intellectual property of the parties or either
  party, including electronically stored or recorded information;
  [or]
               (10)  intentionally or knowingly tampering with the
  tangible or intellectual property of the parties or either party,
  including electronically stored or recorded information, and
  causing pecuniary loss or substantial inconvenience to the other
  party;
               (11)  except as specifically authorized by the court:
                     (A)  selling, transferring, assigning,
  mortgaging, encumbering, or in any other manner alienating any of
  the property of the parties or either party, regardless of whether
  the property is:
                           (i)  personal property, real property, or
  intellectual property; or 
                           (ii)  separate or community property;
                     (B)  incurring any debt, other than legal expenses
  in connection with the suit for dissolution of marriage;
                     (C)  withdrawing money from any checking or
  savings account in a financial institution for any purpose;
                     (D)  spending any money in either party's
  possession or subject to either party's control for any purpose;
                     (E)  withdrawing or borrowing money in any manner
  for any purpose from a retirement, profit sharing, pension, death,
  or other employee benefit plan, employee savings plan, individual
  retirement account, or Keogh account of either party; or
                     (F)  withdrawing or borrowing in any manner all or
  any part of the cash surrender value of a life insurance policy on
  the life of either party or a child of the parties;
               (12)  entering any safe deposit box in the name of or
  subject to the control of the parties or either party, whether
  individually or jointly with others;
               (13)  changing or in any manner altering the
  beneficiary designation on any life insurance policy on the life of
  either party or a child of the parties;
               (14)  canceling, altering, failing to renew or pay
  premiums on, or in any manner affecting the level of coverage that
  existed at the time the suit was filed of, any life, casualty,
  automobile, or health insurance policy insuring the parties'
  property or persons, including a child of the parties;
               (15)  opening or diverting mail or e-mail or any other
  electronic communication addressed to the other party;
               (16)  signing or endorsing the other party's name on any
  negotiable instrument, check, or draft, including a tax refund,
  insurance payment, and dividend, or attempting to negotiate any
  negotiable instrument payable to the other party without the
  personal signature of the other party;
               (17)  taking any action to terminate or limit credit or
  charge credit cards in the name of the other party;
               (18)  discontinuing or reducing the withholding for
  federal income taxes from either party's wages or salary;
               (19)  destroying, disposing of, or altering any
  financial records of the parties, including a canceled check,
  deposit slip, and other records from a financial institution, a
  record of credit purchases or cash advances, a tax return, and a
  financial statement;
               (20)  destroying, disposing of, or altering any e-mail,
  text message, video message, or chat message or other electronic
  data or electronically stored information relevant to the subject
  matter of the suit for dissolution of marriage, regardless of
  whether the information is stored on a hard drive, in a removable
  storage device, in cloud storage, or in another electronic storage
  medium;
               (21)  modifying, changing, or altering the native
  format or metadata of any electronic data or electronically stored
  information relevant to the subject matter of the suit for
  dissolution of marriage, regardless of whether the information is
  stored on a hard drive, in a removable storage device, in cloud
  storage, or in another electronic storage medium;
               (22)  deleting any data or content from any social
  network profile used or created by either party or a child of the
  parties;
               (23)  using any password or personal identification
  number to gain access to the other party's e-mail account, bank
  account, social media account, or any other electronic account;
               (24)  terminating or in any manner affecting the
  service of water, electricity, gas, telephone, cable television, or
  any other contractual service, including security, pest control,
  landscaping, or yard maintenance at the residence of either party,
  or in any manner attempting to withdraw any deposit paid in
  connection with any of those services;
               (25)  excluding the other party from the use and
  enjoyment of a specifically identified residence of the other
  party; or
               (26)  entering, operating, or exercising control over a
  motor vehicle in the possession of the other party.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a suit for dissolution of marriage that is filed on or after the
  effective date of this Act. A suit for dissolution of marriage
  filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
  in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 815 passed the Senate on
  April 9, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 815 passed the House on
  May 5, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 145, Nays 0, two present
  not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor