Monitoring the Session

HB 701

judges appoint a child’s attorney in contested divorces

Died in committee

Verdict: No flags

No flagsInitial review
Rep. Diego M. BernalDHouse 123

Initial review · graded Oct 20, 2026 · Headline, summary and grade are analysis of the bill text, not a finding about any person · How we grade

Caption

relating to the appointment of an attorney ad litem or an amicus attorney in certain cases of divorce.

Caption from analyzed text · version I.

Summary

Child under 12, contested possession, nonstandard schedule.

The bill requires a judge to appoint an attorney ad litem or an amicus attorney in certain divorce cases to help the court decide what is best for the child. It applies to divorces involving a child under 12 where a parent contests possession and the possession schedule varies from the standard possession order. In those cases, appointing a lawyer for the child's interests stops being optional and becomes mandatory, starting immediately or on September 1, 2025.

Labels

Labels: NEVER GOT A HEARING. Filed Nov 12, 2024 and referred to the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence subcommittee on Family & Fiduciary Relationships. No public hearing. The bill died.

Receipt

The receipt

89R-HB701 · 2024-11-12

SOLD BY

Rep. Diego M. BernalDHouse 123

ITEM

relating to the appointment of an attorney ad litem or an amicus attorney in certain cases of divorce.

WHAT IT DOES

Child under 12, contested possession, nonstandard schedule.

The bill requires a judge to appoint an attorney ad litem or an amicus attorney in certain divorce cases to help the court decide what is best for the child. It applies to divorces involving a child under 12 where a parent contests possession and the possession schedule varies from the standard possession order. In those cases, appointing a lawyer for the child's interests stops being optional and becomes mandatory, starting immediately or on September 1, 2025.

CHARGES

[ ] NONE FOUND

TOTAL

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

HISTORY

  1. Filed
  2. Read first time
  3. Referred to s/c on Family & Fiduciary Relationships by Speaker
FILED UNDER

No verified beat found.

No flags

THANK YOU FOR CHECKING THE RECEIPT

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY

Diego M. Bernal

Donors

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$10KTexas Sands PAC$8KTexas HDCC$7K

Not tied to this bill.

Sources

The author's campaign account only. Own money and internal transfers are separate on the member page.

Derived itemized flow · Jul 2, 2024 to Jun 11, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC$10,000.00

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 13, 2024 to Feb 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100987101, 101032904, 101060248.

Texas Sands PAC$8,000.00

Texas Sands PAC

$8,000.00

Cash
$8,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$8,000.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 18, 2024 to Dec 10, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100987101.

Texas HDCC$7,000.00

Texas HDCC

$7,000.00

Cash
$7,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$7,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 3, 2024 to May 12, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Apr 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101060248.

Money

Missing data does not establish zero giving. Display amounts are rounded.

×

Texas Trial Lawyers Association PAC

$10,000.00

Cash
$10,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$10,000.00

Also funds 137 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 24, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Dec 13, 2024 to Feb 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100987101, 101032904, 101060248.

×

Texas Sands PAC

$8,000.00

Cash
$8,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$8,000.00

Also funds 121 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Jul 3, 2024 to Oct 24, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

TEC account match.

Team
Sources

Derived itemized flow · Sep 18, 2024 to Dec 10, 2024. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 100987101.

×

Texas HDCC

$7,000.00

Cash
$7,000.00
Paid by others
$0.00
Total
$7,000.00

Also funds 2 other sitting lawmakers.

Derived recipient stock · Nov 3, 2024 to May 12, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Name match, not a verified identity: normalized filed name and state.

Sources

Derived itemized flow · on Apr 30, 2026. State data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Derived itemized contributions on live regular reports and uncovered special-session dates. Internal account transfers and daily reports are excluded.

Report IDs: 101060248.

Votes

No floor vote loaded for this bill.

Fiscal

No fiscal note in the loaded record.

How this was graded

Analysis of text version I by claude-opus-5-5, Oct 20, 2026, against the published rubric.

Sources

Texas House · Filed Nov 12, 2024

03/04/2025 H Referred to s/c on Family & Fiduciary Relationships by Speaker: Mar 4 2025 3:37PM

Texas Legislature Online · Introduced

Data snapshot Oct 26, 2026 at 4:20 AM CDT. Grades, charges, quotes and corrections follow the published record.

House committee · Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence · Final status: Died in committee

Subjects

Family--Parent & Child

Lawyers

CHILD CUSTODY

DIVORCE

Text

The text as introduced · 183 words

By: Bernal
H.B. No. 701

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the appointment of an attorney ad litem or an amicus

attorney in certain cases of divorce.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 153, Family Code, is amended by adding

Section 153.259 to read as follows:

Section 153.259. MANDATORY APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY AD LITEM

OR AMICUS ATTORNEY IN CASES OF DIVORCE. The court shall, for a

child under 12 years of age and in divorce cases which the

possession of a child by a parent is contested and the possession of

the child varies from the standard possession order, appoint an

attorney ad litem or amicus attorney for the purpose of assisting

the court in determining the best interest of the child.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.