Texas Estates Code 1203.052 – Removal With Notice
(a) Subject to Subsection (c), the court may remove a guardian as provided by Subsection (a-1) if:
(1) sufficient grounds appear to support a belief that the guardian has misapplied, embezzled, or removed from the state, or is about to misapply, embezzle, or remove from the state, any of the property entrusted to the guardian’s care;
(2) the guardian fails to return any account or report that is required by law to be made;
(3) the guardian fails to obey a proper order of the court that has jurisdiction with respect to the performance of the guardian’s duties;
(4) the guardian is proved to have been guilty of gross misconduct or mismanagement in the performance of the guardian’s duties;
(5) the guardian:
(A) becomes incapacitated;
(B) is sentenced to the penitentiary; or
(C) from any other cause, becomes incapable of properly performing the duties of the guardian’s trust;
(6) the guardian has engaged in conduct with respect to the ward that would be considered to be abuse, neglect, or exploitation, as those terms are defined by § 48.002, Human Resources Code, if engaged in with respect to an elderly person or person with a disability, as defined by that section;
(7) the guardian neglects to educate or maintain the ward as liberally as the means of the ward’s estate and the ward’s ability or condition permit;
(8) the guardian interferes with the ward’s progress or participation in programs in the community;
(9) the guardian fails to comply with the requirements of Subchapter G, Chapter 1104;
(10) the court determines that, because of the dissolution of the joint guardians’ marriage, the termination of the guardians’ joint appointment and the continuation of only one of the joint guardians as the sole guardian is in the best interest of the ward; or
(11) the guardian would be ineligible for appointment as a guardian under Subchapter H, Chapter 1104.
(a-1) The court may remove a guardian for a reason listed in Subsection (a) on the:
(1) court’s own motion, after the guardian has been notified by a qualified delivery method to answer at a time and place set in the notice; or
(2) complaint of an interested person, after the guardian has been cited by personal service to answer at a time and place set in the notice.
Terms Used In Texas Estates Code 1203.052
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Court: means and includes:
(1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
(2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise original probate jurisdiction; and
(3) a district court exercising original probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.007 - Estate: means a decedent's property, as that property:
(1) exists originally and as the property changes in form by sale, reinvestment, or otherwise;
(2) is augmented by any accretions and other additions to the property, including any property to be distributed to the decedent's representative by the trustee of a trust that terminates on the decedent's death, and substitutions for the property; and
(3) is diminished by any decreases in or distributions from the property. See Texas Estates Code 22.012 - Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Qualified delivery method: means delivery by:
(1) hand delivery by courier, with courier's proof of delivery receipt;
(2) certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, with return receipt; or
(3) a private delivery service designated as a designated delivery service by the United States Secretary of the Treasury under Section 7502(f)(2), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, with proof of delivery receipt. See Texas Estates Code 22.0295 - Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Texas Estates Code 22.033
(b) In addition to the authority granted to the court under Subsection (a), the court may, on the complaint of the guardianship certification program of the Judicial Branch Certification Commission, remove a guardian who would be ineligible for appointment under Subchapter H, Chapter 1104, because of the guardian’s failure to maintain the certification required under Subchapter F, Chapter 1104. The guardian shall be given notice by a qualified delivery method to appear and contest the request for removal under this subsection at a time and place set in the notice.
(c) If there is probable cause to believe that a guardian is an incapacitated person, a court may, on the court’s own motion or on complaint of an interested person, appoint an attorney ad litem to represent the ward’s interests as provided by § 1054.007 and a court investigator or guardian ad litem to investigate whether the guardian should be removed under Subsection (a)(5)(A). If the court determines it is necessary, the court may appoint the necessary physicians to examine the guardian to determine whether the guardian is an incapacitated person for purposes of Subsection (a)(5)(A).