Texas Health and Safety Code - HEALTH & SAFETY § 242.020. Civil Liability Related to Misappropriation of Resident's Funds

(1) “Misappropriate” means the taking, secretion, misapplication, deprivation, transfer, or attempted transfer to any person not entitled to receive any real or personal property or anything of value belonging to or under the legal control of a resident without the effective consent of the resident or other appropriate legal authority.

(2) “Responsible payor” means a person who:

(1) before admission of the resident, the facility obtains financial information from the resident or responsible payor demonstrating the amount of financial resources that the resident has available to pay for nursing facility care;  and

(2) after the resident begins to reside at the facility, the responsible payor misappropriates the resident's resources to a degree that the resident is unable to afford to pay for the resident's care.