Terms Used In Texas Estates Code Chapter 1101 > Subchapter C - Determination of Necessity of Guardianship; Findings and Proof

• Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Agency: includes authority, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, district, division, and office. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Alcoholic beverage: has the meaning assigned by § 1. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Benefit: means anything reasonably regarded as economic gain or advantage, including benefit to any other person in whose welfare the beneficiary is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Consent: means assent in fact, whether express or apparent. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Correctional facility: means a place designated by law for the confinement of a person arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Federal special investigator: means a person described by Article Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Government: means :
  (A) the state;
  (B) a county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state; or
  (C) any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality, or political subdivision. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• 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.
• Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage, or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by writing, printing, or other means. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• 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.
• Justice: when applied to a magistrate, means justice of the peace. See Texas Government Code 312.011
• Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age who:
  (1) has never been married; and
  (2) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes. See Texas Estates Code 22.022
• Misdemeanor: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by fine, by confinement in jail, or by both fine and confinement in jail. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Official proceeding: means any type of administrative, executive, legislative, or judicial proceeding that may be conducted before a public servant. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Peace officer: means a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
• Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Possession: means actual care, custody, control, or management. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
• Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public servant: means a person elected, selected, appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the following, even if he has not yet qualified for office or assumed his duties:
  (A) an officer, employee, or agent of government;
  (B) a juror or grand juror; or
  (C) an arbitrator, referee, or other person who is authorized by law or private written agreement to hear or determine a cause or controversy; or
  (D) an attorney at law or notary public when participating in the performance of a governmental function; or
  (E) a candidate for nomination or election to public office; or
  (F) a person who is performing a governmental function under a claim of right although he is not legally qualified to do so. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
• Signed: includes any symbol executed or adopted by a person with present intention to authenticate a writing. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Texas Estates Code 22.033
• Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005