Texas Government Code 72.035 – Settlement Agreement Database
(a) The office shall establish and maintain an electronic database that contains personal injury or wrongful death settlement agreements for which a minor or incapacitated person is the beneficiary. A party to the agreement or a guardian, next friend, or guardian ad litem may record the agreement in the database. Only one copy of an agreement may be filed by the parties or the guardian, next friend, or guardian ad litem in each settlement agreement.
(b) A settlement agreement recorded in the database is confidential, and the office shall ensure that a settlement agreement may be accessed only by:
(1) the parties to the settlement agreement;
(2) each attorney representing a party to the settlement agreement; or
(3) the guardian, next friend, or guardian ad litem of a party to the settlement agreement.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 72.035
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(c) The office may set and collect a fee to record a settlement agreement in the database in an amount sufficient to cover the costs of maintaining the agreement in the database, not to exceed $50 for each agreement.
(d) Any fee to record a settlement agreement in the database established by the office as provided by Subsection (c) is a court cost to be included for payment in the settlement agreement.