Updates Review

This Update

This update consists primarily of forms updated for new Texas legislation enacted in 2011 with an effective date of September 1, 2011. You will find information below in the Recent WebUpdates section about immediate-effect legislation that was passed during the legislative session. The changes in this update include:

• Family Law – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we updated 62 forms to include: (1) changing protective orders as to who can bring them and including pets as being protected, (2) modifying collaborative law provisions, (3) changing authorizations for non-parents, (4) allowing for identification in QDROs by other than social security number, (5) changing spousal maintenance provisions, and (6) changing possession for children under the age of three. We also added the new Unsworn Declaration form pursuant to 2011 legislative changes.
• Litigation - Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we updated the Notice of Sale - Worker’s Possessory Lien (Vehicle, Boat, Vessel) form and added an Unsworn Declaration form.
• Probate – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we added the new: (1) Affidavit in Lieu of Inventory, Appraisement, and List of Claims form, (2) Supplemental Affidavit in Lieu of Inventory, Appraisement and List of Claims form, (3) Notice of Closing Estate form, (4) Receipt for Notice of Closing Estate form, and (5) Unsworn Declaration form. We also modified 48 forms pursuant to 2011 legislative changes. These revisions included: (1) adding a new option for basis of venue, (2) adding adult incapacitated children as beneficiaries of set asides and allowances, (3) new optional language for receipt of copy of will or summary of gifts, as well as (4) optional consent language for sale of real estate.
• Real Estate - Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we updated 29 forms including: (1) modified deed language concerning correction deeds to distinguish between material and nonmaterial corrections and to permit signature of a nonmaterial correction document by knowledgeable persons not a party to the original deed, (2) added special notice to military members on foreclosure forms, (3) modified the Owner Affidavit of Completion to permit a subcontractor 40 days to file claims, (4) modified retainage and other mechanics lien forms to include the date of original execution and to extend deadline for filing claims, (5) modified the Declaration of Restrictive Covenants form to allow alternative roofing materials, (6) added language to protect voting and other property owner rights, (7) added language to allow owners to fly the US and Texas flag on flagpoles up to 20 feet in height, and (8) added language to require judicial foreclosure of property association liens, (9) modified the Bylaws of Property Association form to protect voting rights including electronic voting, (10) modified the Condominium Information Statement form to clarify unit owner’s obligation to notify county of change of address, and (11) added the new Unsworn Declaration form.

Also pursuant to 2011 legislative changes, we modified the Seller’s Disclosure of Property Condition to require disclosure of: (1) a single blockable main drain in a pool or spa, (2) the availability of natural gas or liquid propane, and (3) the existence of certain rainwater harvesting systems.

• Business Organizations – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we: (1) updated the definition of record date for voting on action taken by the entity in seven sets of bylaws and company operating agreements, (2) changed references to the company’s tax ID number to be Federal Taxpayer Identification Number, (3) changed the definition of person in six forms, (4) modified merger and conversion procedures, (5) updated statutory references, and added the new Unsworn Declaration form.
• Criminal Defense – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we updated forms to include: (1) requirements for having a minor testify, (2) requirements for an attorney to withdraw as counsel, (3) changes to competency requirements in criminal cases, and (4) changes to expunction of records.
• Guardianships – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we: (1) added the new Application to Transfer Property to Qualify for Government Benefits form, (2) added the new Order Authorizing Transfer of Property to Qualify for Government Benefits form, (3) added the new Unsworn Declaration form, and (4) modified 10 forms. The form modifications included giving additional notices to interested parties, removing the information about co-owners in the inventory and allowing a ward with only a physical disability to create a management trust.
• Small Estate Wills - Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we modified four forms by providing an alternative method to executing and proving wills and codicils and added the new Unsworn Declaration form.
• Adoptions – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we: (1) added additional grounds to terminate the parent-child relationship in the Petitions and Orders for Termination form, (2) removed the four year limitation for challenging an acknowledgment/denial of paternity, (3) modified collaborative law language for agreements signed after September1, 2011, and (4) added the new Unsworn Declaration form.
• Attorney-Client Matters – We added the new Unsworn Declaration form pursuant to 2011 legislative changes.
• Criminal Prosecution - Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we updated forms to include requirements for having a minor testify and changes to competency requirements in criminal cases.
• Foreclosures – Pursuant to 2011 legislative actions, we: (1) added a notice to tenant concerning assignment of rents, (2) changed the smoke detector language, and (3) added the Unsworn Declaration form and.
• Landlord/Tenant - We added the new Unsworn Declaration form pursuant to 2011 legislative changes.

View more detailed information about this update >>

Recent WebUpdates

This update also includes a roll-up of all the WebUpdates we released since the December 2010 update:

• Family Law - Pursuant to an immediate effect bill from the 2011 Texas legislative session, we: (1) added to all final orders where child support is ordered that the child support automatically terminates upon an adjudication of mistaken paternity and (2) added optional determination by the court that the contract containing an agreement to arbitrate is valid.

Additionally, we: (1) Modified the Respondent’s Answer so that the title of the verification populates the document appropriately; (2) updated the Inquiry on Court of Continuing Jurisdiction, Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information, Change of Address for the IRS, Request for Process, and Request for Subpoenas in Bexar County to match updated agency forms; (3) modified the request for attorney’s fees post judgment in the divorce decree so that they are now optional and do not have to be included based upon numerous customer requests; (4) updated the Department of Transportation’s Request for Motor Vehicle Title form; (5) revised the form pursuant to an update by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services; (6) allowed that attorney’s fees upon appeal are optional in the SAPCR, Modification, and Grandparent/Sibling final orders forms; (7) updated Instructions to the Jury and the forms to match the changes made to the Rules of Civil Procedure by the Texas Supreme Court; (8) updated the QDRO for Texas State Employees to match the official version; (9) updated the Notice and Order of Income Withholding forms to match the revised agency version; (10) updated the Ethical Guidelines for Mediators form to match Texas Supreme Court language; and (11) updated UIFSA forms.

• Adoptions - We added a new option in the Petition and Order for Termination for a father to seek to have his own rights terminated based upon mistaken paternity. We also revised the Order for Paternity so that child support automatically terminates upon the adjudication of mistaken paternity. Both were pursuant to an immediate effect bill from the 2011 Texas legislative session.
• Foreclosures - We updated forms to match the State Bar of Texas¹ forms regarding the appropriate term selection between lender, owner, note holder and mortgagee and mortgage servicer.
• Lipman's Wills & Trusts - We added language in several irrevocable trusts when the trust has an SNT beneficiary.
• Litigation - Pursuant to an immediate effect bill from the 2011 Texas legislative session, we: (1) updated the Notice, Affidavit, and Proof of Mailing forms regarding the filing of a Foreign Judgment; (2) updated the effective date for the Premises Liability Petition and Pattern Jury charge on attractive nuisance pursuant; (3) updated the DTPA Response to Notice of Claim form and the Defendant’s Original Answer form to include the licensed broker or salesperson exemption.

  Additionally, we: (1) updated all of the Pattern Jury Charges¹ to match the most current versions published by the State Bar of Texas; (2) updated the Instructions to the Jury form and the Charge form to match revisions to the Rules of Civil Procedure issued by the Supreme Court of Texas (3) updated and rearranged the Collections sub-volume to match the new 2011 Texas Collections Manual¹ published by the State Bar of Texas, which caused us to move many forms to different or new chapters; (4) updated nine bankruptcy forms to match new caption requirements from the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court; (5) updated references to Rules of Civil Procedure pursuant to changes by the Texas Supreme Court; (6) deleted the Notice of Motion to Recuse form as it was outdated; (7) updated language in demand letters involving violations of the ADA to track new regulations promulgated pursuant to the ADAAA; (7) added eight new forms concerning the appointment of receivers and inspection of financial records; and (8) standardized the language concerning Social Security numbers and Drivers license numbers in initial pleadings throughout the volume.

• Real Estate - In this volume we made significant revisions to all six major Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) contract forms and to two other TREC forms and we added two new TREC forms, the use of which by real estate licensees became mandatory on March 1, 2011.

We also updated the entire volume to match the 2011 State Bar of Texas Real Estate Manual, Second Ed¹ to include: (1) re-numbering all but nine forms and moving many forms to different chapters; (2) adding a new Condominium chapter; and (3) moving all water-rights-conveyancing forms (formerly contained within Chapter 12) to the newly renumbered Chapter 31, which deals exclusively with water rights.

• Probate - We updated the Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information form to match the new agency version. We also updated the Dallas County form to match changes to the official form.
• Adoptions - We added the ability in the Petition and Order forms for termination for a father to seek to have his own rights terminated based upon mistaken paternity. We added to the Order for Paternity form that child support automatically terminates upon the adjudication of mistaken paternity. Both of these were pursuant to an immediate effect bill from the 2011 Texas legislative session.
• Business Organizations – We updated seven Certificate of Termination forms and eight other documents to match language from the Texas Secretary of State.
• Foreclosures – We updated forms to match the State Bar of Texas forms from the Texas Foreclosures Manual¹ regarding the appropriate term selection between lender, owner, note holder and mortgagee and mortgage servicer.
• Business Transactions Solution - We completely re-organized this volume. Selector numbers and links to Westlaw changed to match updated source material. We removed two forms that were no longer on the site.
• Certified Mailer - We updates the postage fees in April for the 2011 USPS postal rate increase.

Customer Questions from the Last WebNotes
The following questions were from ProDoc customers in response to the last ProDoc WebNotes.

Q: We would like to create a database with all of the addresses in our client list. We will be moving soon. Any suggestions? We have all of the Microsoft programs and WordPerfect.
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Q: Are the updates to ProDoc still being sent via a CD?
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Q: Staff members advise that the HUD-1 form in ProDoc is not user friendly. It appears that you can go through the motions to fill out the form, however, you are not able to save it in a format in which you can go back to make changes and have it recalculate. The form is saved in a .pdf format. When changes have to be made, they have to re-enter ALL of the information again. Are they not using the program properly or is this correct? If this is correct, can ProDoc fix this issue?
A: Read about how to view all the decimal places in HUD-1 fields >>

Q: I saw that ProDoc is available in 64-bit, but it’s installed on my server and running in 32-bit mode. How do we get the 64-bit version? When we install it, will it automatically uninstall the 32-bit version and install?
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