Tex. Prop. Code § 162.031 · Subchapter B. MISAPPLICATION OF TRUST FUNDS
MISAPPLICATION OF TRUST FUNDS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A trustee who, intentionally or knowingly or with intent to defraud, directly or indirectly retains, uses, disburses, or otherwise diverts trust funds without first fully paying all current or past due obligations incurred by the trustee to the beneficiaries of the trust funds, has misapplied the trust funds.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution or other action brought under Subsection (a) that the trust funds not paid to the beneficiaries of the trust were used by the trustee to pay the trustee's actual expenses directly related to the construction or repair of the improvement or have been retained by the trustee, after notice to the beneficiary who has made a request for payment, as a result of the trustee's reasonable belief that the beneficiary is not entitled to such funds or have been retained as authorized or required by Chapter 53.
(c) It is also an affirmative defense to prosecution or other action brought under Subsection (a) that the trustee paid the beneficiaries all trust funds which they are entitled to receive no later than 30 days following written notice to the trustee of the filing of a criminal complaint or other notice of a pending criminal investigation.
(d) A trustee who commingles trust funds with other funds in the trustee's possession does not defeat a trust created by this chapter.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3721, ch. 576, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1984. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 578, Sec. 4, eff. Aug. 31, 1987.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1277 (H.B. 1513), Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2009.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PR/htm/PR.162.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 be107d6dea43bb9a508197a277f16a1c48c1df1492aaa53ef7f57bfe86a9d3c3
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.