Sec. 5.102.  SALE OF COMMUNITY HOMESTEAD UNDER UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.  If the homestead is the community property of the spouses, one spouse may file a sworn petition that gives a description of the property, states the facts that make it desirable for the petitioning spouse to sell, convey, or encumber the homestead without the joinder of the other spouse, and alleges that the other spouse:
(1)  has disappeared and that the location of the spouse remains unknown to the petitioning spouse;
(2)  has permanently abandoned the homestead and the petitioning spouse;
(3)  has permanently abandoned the homestead and the spouses are permanently separated;  or
(4)  has been reported by an executive department of the United States to be a prisoner of war or missing on public service of the United States.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.  Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 217, Sec. 27, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.