Texas Government Code 844.404 – Person Causing Death of Member or Annuitant
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(a) A benefit, including any optional group term life benefit, payable on the death of a member or annuitant may not be paid to a person convicted of causing that death but instead is payable to a person who would be entitled under this subtitle to the benefit had the convicted person predeceased the decedent. If no person would be entitled to the benefit, the benefit is payable to the decedent’s estate.
(b) The retirement system is not required to change the recipient of benefits under this section unless it receives actual notice of the conviction of a beneficiary. However, the retirement system may delay payment of a benefit payable on the death of a member or annuitant pending the results of a criminal investigation and of legal proceedings relating to the cause of death.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 844.404
- Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- 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.
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(c) The retirement system is not liable for any benefit paid to a convicted person before the date the system receives actual notice of the conviction, and any payment made before that date is a complete discharge of the system’s obligation with regard to that benefit payment. The convicted person holds all payments received in constructive trust for the rightful recipient.
(d) If an annuity is in pay status, the retirement system shall pay in a lump sum the actuarial equivalent of the remainder of any annuity or payments that would otherwise have been payable to the convicted person to the person entitled to the benefit under Subsection (a) or to the decedent’s estate. The time of the actuarial equivalence is the earlier of the time the retirement system receives the notice of the conviction under Subsection (b) or the time the retirement system begins the delay in payment of a benefit under Subsection (b).
(e) For the purposes of this section, a person has been convicted of causing the death of a member or annuitant if the person:
(1) has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or has been found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction of an offense at the trial of which it is established that the person’s intentional, knowing, or reckless act or omission resulted in the death of a person who was a member or annuitant, regardless of whether sentence is imposed or probated; and
(2) has no appeal of the conviction pending and the time provided for appeal has expired.