Substitute House Bill 595 Summary

• Permits nonelderly disabled applicants or recipients of Medicaid benefits to establish their own special needs trusts on or after December 13, 2016, expanding access to planning tools for disabled individuals.

• Creates Chapter 5817 to allow testators to file declaratory judgment actions during their lifetime to declare will validity, and allows settlors to do the same for trust validity.

• Specifies domestic relations and juvenile court jurisdiction in certain matters, including procedures to transfer child custody and support cases between courts and requirements for notification when custody changes.

• Modifies civil litigation procedures by establishing standards for waiving fees for indigent litigants based on income thresholds (187.5% of federal poverty guidelines) and monthly expenses relative to liquid assets.

• Clarifies inheritance restrictions by adding involuntary manslaughter not resulting from felony vehicular homicide to offenses that exclude individuals from inheriting from decedents.