The Texas Legislature recently passed new rules concerning the proper procedure to disclaim property. Among the major changes, the new act unifies the right to disclaim under the Property Code rather than have the rights spread between the Estate and Trust Code. In addition, fiduciaries now have the right to disclaim property though some, such as guardians, must seek court approval although trustees have the right to disclaim without a judge’s blessing. The most important change, however, is the elimination of the nine month time limit to disclaim; from here on out a disclaimer will be effective as long as no control has been exerted over the property. A version of the new statute may be found here.
See Glenn Karisch, The new Texas Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act, Texas Probate, July 9, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
