February 28, 1972 I Yd&-c~ 

/ 

Honorable Raymond W. Vowel1 

State Department of Public 

Welfare 

John H. Reagan Building 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Dear Mr. Vowell: 

Opinion No. M-1085 

Re: The authority of the 

State Department of 

Public Welfare to make 

payments directly to 

emancipated minor applicants for or recipients of assistance, 

and payments to the 

parents or persons acting in loco parentis 

for the benefit of 

minor applicants for 

or recipients of 

assistance. 

In your recent letter to this office you ask our opinion 

as to the authority of the State Department of Public Welfare 

to make assistance payments: 

1. Directly to minor applicants or recipients 

in the Aid to the Blind and the Aid to the 

Permanently and Totally Disabled programs, 

where such minors have been emancipated from 

parental control. 

2. To the parents of an applicant or recipient, 

or another person acting in loco parentis 

to an applicant or recipient, where such 

payments would be authorized under Federal 

regulations. 

your letter further points out that departmental policy 

at the present time is to make payments to the guardian of the 

minor, or to the minor directly only if his disabilities have 

been removed by the Court or through his marriage. 

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Honorable Raymond W. Vowell, page 2 (M-1085) 

The first suggested policy change would permit payment 

directly to a minor who has been emancipated from parental control. The second policy change would expand this further by 

allowing payment directly to a natural guardian (parent) or 

another person acting in loco parentis to the minor applicant 

or recipient. In Attorney General's Opinion No. WW-524 (1958) 

this office said the following: 

"The Department of Public Welfare may 

make payments to a general guardian of the 

person of the ward upon proper court order, 

but may not make payments to the natural 

guardian of the ward." 

The rationale of that opinion was that a guardian of the 

person of the ward could not receive and expend public assistance payments unless he was authorized by a proper court order 

to do so. Such payments were considered to be a part of the 

corpus of the ward's estate and were not income to him (citing 

21 Tex.Jur. 144, Sec. 158, and authorities). This same language and necessary result are now found in 27 Texas Jurisprudence 2d 451-452, Guardian and Ward, Section 129, citing 

the same authorities. This 1958 opinion also quoted Texas 

Jurisprudence as follows: 

"The authority of the natural guardian 

insofar as the property of the ward is concerned does not extend to general control or 

management, . . .' 21 Tex. Jur. 136, Sec. 152. 

This same quote and accompanying authorities can be found now 

in 27 Texas Jurisprudence 2d 455, Guardian and Ward, Section 

135. As a consequence, we do not find that there has been any 

change in the law governing this situation, and reaffirm our 

Opinion No. WW-524. It is, therefore, the opinion of this 

office that assistance payments to minor applicants or recipients under the programs here concerned may not be made to 

natural guardians or to another person acting in loco parentis. 

The remaining aspect of your prospective policy change 

involves payment directly to emancipated minors. It is the 

opinion of this office that only those minors who have had 

their disabilities removed pursuant to the statutory provi- * sions contained in Article 5921 through 5923a, Vernon's Civil 

Statutes, or pursuant to marriage, may receive assistance payments directly from the Department. Express or implied consent 

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Honorable Raymond W. Vowell, page.3 (M-1085) 

by a parent or natural guardian to emancipation of the minor 

does not remove legal disability nor affect the minor's 

right to disaffirm-contracts. Mast vs. Strahan, 225 S.W. 

790 (Tex.Civ.App. 1920, no writ). 

SUMMARY 

The State Department of Public Welfare 

has no authority to make assistance payments 

under the Aid to the Blind and the Aid to the 

Permanently and Totally Disabled Programs, (1) 

directly to minor applicants, where such minors 

have not had their disabilities removed pursuant 

to Articles 5921, et seq., Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

or pursuant to marriage, or (2) directly to natural 

guardians of a minor applicant or recipient, or 

another person acting in loco parentis to a minor 

applicant or recipient. Attorney General Opinion 

No. WW-524 (1958) is reaffized. 

Att ney General of Texas 

Prepared by James H. Quick 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Arthur Sandlin 

Sam Jones 

Harriet Burke 

Fisher Tyler 

SAMUEL D. MCDANIEL 

Staff Legal Assistant 

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\ 

‘. 

Honorable Raymond W. Vowell, page 4 (M-1085) 

,ALFRED WAGKER ; 

.~xecutive‘:,.Assis"tant "S . . . ~. 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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