S.B. No. 1249

	AN ACT
	relating to adverse possession of real property by a cotenant heir
	against other cotenant heirs.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 16, Civil Practice and
	Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section 16.0265 to read as
	follows:
	Sec. 16.0265.  ADVERSE POSSESSION BY COTENANT HEIR: 15-YEAR
	COMBINED LIMITATIONS PERIOD. (a)  In this section, "cotenant heir"
	means one of two or more persons who simultaneously acquire
	identical, undivided ownership interests in, and rights to
	possession of, the same real property by operation of the
	applicable intestate succession laws of this state or a successor
	in interest of one of those persons.
	(b)  One or more cotenant heirs of real property may acquire
	the interests of other cotenant heirs in the property by adverse
	possession under this section if, for a continuous, uninterrupted
	10-year period immediately preceding the filing of the affidavits
	required by Subsection (c):
	(1)  the possessing cotenant heir or heirs:
	(A)  hold the property in peaceable and exclusive
	possession;
	(B)  cultivate, use, or enjoy the property; and
	(C)  pay all property taxes on the property not
	later than two years after the date the taxes become due; and
	(2)  no other cotenant heir has:
	(A)  contributed to the property's taxes or
	maintenance;
	(B)  challenged a possessing cotenant heir's
	exclusive possession of the property;
	(C)  asserted any other claim against a possessing
	cotenant heir in connection with the property, such as the right to
	rental payments from a possessing cotenant heir;
	(D)  acted to preserve the cotenant heir's
	interest in the property by filing notice of the cotenant heir's
	claimed interest in the deed records of the county in which the
	property is located; or
	(E)  entered into a written agreement with the
	possessing cotenant heir under which the possessing cotenant heir
	is allowed to possess the property but the other cotenant heir does
	not forfeit that heir's ownership interest.
	(c)  To make a claim of adverse possession against a cotenant
	heir under this section, the cotenant heir or heirs claiming
	adverse possession must:
	(1)  file in the deed records of the county in which the
	real property is located an affidavit of heirship in the form
	prescribed by Section 203.002, Estates Code, and an affidavit of
	adverse possession that complies with the requirements of
	Subsection (d);
	(2)  publish notice of the claim in a newspaper of
	general circulation in the county in which the property is located
	for the four consecutive weeks immediately following the date the
	affidavits required by Subdivision (1) are filed; and
	(3)  provide written notice of the claim to the last
	known addresses of all other cotenant heirs by certified mail,
	return receipt requested.
	(d)  The affidavits required by Subsection (c) may be filed
	separately or combined into a single instrument.  The affidavit of
	adverse possession must include:
	(1)  a legal description of the property that is the
	subject of the adverse possession;
	(2)  an attestation that each affiant is a cotenant
	heir of the property who has been in peaceable and exclusive
	possession of the property for a continuous, uninterrupted period
	during the 10 years preceding the filing of the affidavit;
	(3)  an attestation of cultivation, use, or enjoyment
	of the property by each affiant during the 10 years preceding the
	filing of the affidavit;
	(4)  evidence of payment by the affiant or affiants of
	all property taxes on the property as provided by Subsection (b)
	during the 10 years preceding the filing of the affidavit; and
	(5)  an attestation that there has been no action
	described by Subsection (b)(2) by another cotenant heir during the
	10 years preceding the filing of the affidavit.
	(e)  A cotenant heir must file a controverting affidavit or
	bring suit to recover the cotenant heir's interest in real property
	adversely possessed by another cotenant heir under this section not
	later than the fifth anniversary of the date a right of adverse
	possession is asserted by the filing of the affidavits required by
	Subsection (c).
	(f)  If a controverting affidavit or judgment is not filed
	before the fifth anniversary of the date the affidavits required by
	Subsection (c) are filed and no notice described by Subsection
	(b)(2)(D) was filed in the 10-year period preceding the filing of
	the affidavits under Subsection (c), title vests in the adversely
	possessing cotenant heir or heirs in the manner provided by Section
	16.030, precluding all claims by other cotenant heirs.
	(g)  A bona fide lender for value without notice accepting a
	voluntary lien against the real property to secure the adversely
	possessing cotenant heir's indebtedness or a bona fide purchaser
	for value without notice may conclusively rely on the affidavits
	required by Subsection (c) if:
	(1)  the affidavits have been filed of record for the
	period prescribed by Subsection (e); and
	(2)  a controverting affidavit or judgment has not been
	filed during that period.
	(h)  Without a title instrument, peaceable and adverse
	possession is limited in this section to 160 acres, including
	improvements, unless the number of acres actually enclosed exceeds
	160 acres. If the number of enclosed acres exceeds 160 acres,
	peaceable and adverse possession extends to the real property
	actually enclosed.
	(i)  Peaceable possession of real property held under a duly
	registered deed or other memorandum of title that fixes the
	boundaries of the possessor's claim extends to the boundaries
	specified in the instrument.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1249 passed the Senate on
	April 5, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 29, Nays 0, one
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1249 passed the House on
	May 24, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 0, two
	present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor